


There's No Paradise, Kuroko

by xeceedwards



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-04-26 04:46:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4990798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xeceedwards/pseuds/xeceedwards
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Vamp! - Nineteenth Century / Akashi x kuroko / Kise x kuroko ////</p><p> "Life is a game - a game where everyone loses and the only prize is knowing that you've fought. Your innocence will be replaced by lies and destruction, and the only road ahead leads to hell."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I couldn't scratch off the idea for this plot I had in mind and I just had to put it into words - I hope you enjoy it!

Prologue.  
.  
.  
.  
"Dammit, hurry up! They're going to run out!" Kagami yelled across the cramped living area as he bent down, struggling to tie up his laces.

"Shut up K, we heard you the first time. And while we're pointing fingers, I'd like to point out that you were the one who took ages waking up." Aomine rolled his eyes as he strutted out of the household, stuffing his tiny palms into his pockets.

"Wha - hey! Let's not forget who forgot where they placed my shoes, you ass." He retorted as he got up from his crouched position, defending his point.

"You idiot, that literally only took five seconds. You're such a-"

"Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun, at this rate they're really going to run out of rations before we get there." Kuroko emerged from the shadows behind them, swiftly cutting Aomine off and stared at them with the questionable innocence of a six-year-old. Both opposing parties paused and glared at each other indignantly for a few seconds, before grunting words of acquiescent as they were reminded again that food was their priority.

For now, at least, they thought. They'll settle this later. Kagami grumbled incoherently as he rolled his eyes and trotted off onto the gravel path with the rest trailing behind.

Kuroko looked at his hurrying brothers in front of him. They were constantly on different ends, arguing with every second presented their way as if it was their last. His heart warmed. On mere appearance, they were nothing more than rivals who hated each other, and the fact that they still lived with each other had always been a common unsolved mystery among the on-lookers. But Kuroko knew better. He knew that despite the countless death threats they'd send to each other's way like free candies on a regular day, that they would lay their lives down on the line without hesitation for the other party if such a time came when it was needed.

Of course, he wouldn't count on them to admit it even when such a time did arrive and their lives were actually on the line. Kuroko snickered when he thought of the aftermath of Aomine saving Kagami, or vice versa, and that as if it was instinctively in their characteristics to pass off their actions as just purely for "survival's sake", and that they definitely would not have done so if they didn't think the other party was of any significant use.

Albeit both parties were of an older age than him, Kuroko still found himself being constantly told of the maturity he had that was very distinctly absent in his foster siblings, and that that maturity was definitely also 'far too much for his age'. He was bloody seven, after all.

They stopped routinely after rounding the third corner of the back alley they lived in and emerged into the chaotic street. As usual, hundreds of plebeians were crowded in the central area of town, where the rations were being handed out by bored officers dressed in brown. Kagami looked upon the scene in dismay, as from experience; he knew that they were already a step too late. The three of them were aware that if they didn't force their way through the pack of hungry commoners right now, they would have to sleep on an empty stomach for the next few days.

Kids like them didn't have much opportunities of survival. It was the early nineteenth century and times were getting nothing but tougher, and to put it bluntly, the only reason they were able to live till now was solely because of the countless sacrifices each of them had made along the way for each other. They lived in a tiny abandoned cot at the back end of the street with nothing supporting them but the unbreakable bonds they shared. Like them, a few other discarded children had gathered there as well and together, they were able to miraculously survive.

Kagami turned to face Aomine as they shared a solemn look. They knew what had to be done.

And it was never pretty.

Even though he was forced back into the safety of the empty alley every time such a situation sprang up, Kuroko knew, from the bruises his brothers carried back on their bodies, that it was never easy getting rations after the crowd had arrived. He would find them returning to him after a half-hour or so, holding on to the ration bags that were pressed possessively to their chest as if their lives depended on it, and clinging onto each other for support. He would find his eyes stinging with tears as he watched his brothers feign toughness when he grabbed onto them, asking if they were okay. Their bodies hadn't fully developed and wasn't able to sustain brutal circumstances as such – but they were doing so because they loved him, and everyone else back at the cot. There was nothing worse than the hungry competing with the starving for food after all.

And it wasn't any different this time round.

They took slightly longer and returned with slightly more bruises than usual, which made the heart of the youngest among the trio ache vehemently. He took care to take the packages off their arms gently and they trailed back together to their little home in silence. He frowned as he noticed Aomine wincing every time he stepped forward with his right foot.

There wasn't anyone to blame, really. But if anyone was at fault, it would be the parents who abandoned them. But even then, Kuroko believed that they did so because they must have also been at their ends. So at the end of the day, there was truly no one to push the blame to for their condition, except for their own ill-fortune.

They made the last turn and pushed open the familiar worn-wooden door that had been acting as poor security for their little family for the past few years. The rusted screws binding the door creaked in protest as it was slammed back down.

"Satsuki! We're back!" Aomine announced and dragged his feet lazily - a bad habit he had - as he strutted back with them to the back where they knew the rest of them would be gathered. Kuroko could see that he was putting in noticeable effort not to limp as he walked confidently into their line of sight.

"Ah! That's great! Could you bring it over he- Eh?" Momoi looked up and her expression turned bitter as she noticed the injuries plastered over their bodies. "Not again." She whispered under her breath, as she began rushing all over to gather the DIY-ed first aid, all the while, like Kuroko, holding back the tears that were prominently trying to escape.

Kiyoshi glanced at the scene before him and sighed wistfully, before turning around to wake the sleeping Riko up, whom subsequently placed her hand over her mouth and too, started tearing up after realizing what had happened.

Hyuuga hadn't returned yet. He, being thirteen and the oldest of them all, took on the responsibility of getting a small night job. At first they were all adamant on the idea as it was a job that could not guarantee his safety. But after a few discussions and some heated fights, they were willing to give it a shot. Which later, arguably, proved to be the best decision they'd ever make; as though the income was minuscule, that little amount of money managed to scrape them through the toughest times. But still, just barely.

The seven of them were not tied by blood but anyone could see that they were as closely knitted as any other family was, and probably even loved each other more.  
Kuroko sat the ration bags down on the ground as he slid down resignedly on the adjacent wall of Kiyoshi, watching as the familiar scene unfolded in front of him.  
Riko had fully woken up and had joined in the first-aid process of applying what little disinfectant they had scraped up on the bloody scratches on Kagami, while Momoi was applying pressure to Aomine's bruises. Kuroko's heart pained, as he knew that they were only trying to occupy their bodies to distract their minds from the harsh truth that the two older brothers of their little broken family had gotten injured again for them. And what hurt him even more was watching them trying to lighten the clouded atmosphere - Kagami's rare (but still failed) attempts at crappy jokes and Aomine's forced laughter at them (which, at other times would have itself, been a cause for laughter). Kuroko watched sadly, as the young girls fussed about the injuries like over-worked mothers because dammit, they were still just kids who were forced to grow up too quickly.

But then again, everybody in this household was.

His eyes dropped to his propped up knee, studying the scabs on them as if they were the most brilliant thing he'd ever seen, tuning out his frantic surroundings.  
It was disheartening, for six to ten year old kids to be kicked to the bottom of the social hierarchy, forgotten by the society and living off the scrapes of the poor, fighting for their survival every second of the day as if it wasn't in their basic rights to be able to live. They were terribly malnutritioned, and lived on inconsistent meals. On good days, there was meat or bread on their table. On bad days, there wasn't anything at all. Their rib cages were prominent, protruding through the thin layer of skin covering their bodies, and the only place that they could go to rinse themselves was at the local river – and that was almost a mile from where they lived. How they managed to survive for three years was still an unsolvable, enigmatic miracle.

The fact that all of them were unhealthily co-dependent on each other was also left unsaid - because at least they had each other. Kuroko, and he knew as well as everyone else, thrived on the belief that nothing could go wrong as long as they had each other.  
.  
.  
. The three of them were closer together. After all, they were abandoned on the same street.

They left the house at night on alternate days when the streets were deserted to scrape up the remnants of forgotten coins left on the main road. Well, if they were lucky enough to find any.

Kiyoshi had been obstinate on joining them in their wondrous late night adventures at first, but he was subsequently convinced to stay behind with the two ladies (but depending on your personal definition of convincing, it could vary from honey-coated sweet persuasions to brutal death threats).

He had injured his legs during an accident involving a carriage a couple of years ago - before their family had been formed. From what little was revealed, they placed the pieces together and figured that the scene had been both bloody and heartless, and moving around for Kiyoshi had eventually become harder. It was a hit and run in the late hours, thus there was literally no one present at the scene to lend a helping hand when he desperately needed it. If there had been someone present to help at that time, anyone at all, his condition might not have turned for the worse, and Kiyoshi's legs would not have been damaged as badly as it was.

Riko found him a couple days later on her way back from the market, with his legs wrapped up in pitiful amounts of yellowed-bandages that couldn't have possibly been hygienic. By then, they were only left with the choice of manual recovery. Naturally, the wounds and cuts derived from the accident had been infected. She brought (more of dragged, really- he had refused to accept her help though he was likely aware he needed some desperately) him back to her friends and not surprisingly, they were at a loss at how to help him. None of them had any experience with the medical field then, and they hit a brick wall within minutes.

They carried him to doctors after doctors but none of them were willing to treat the child without a promised sum of fee, which they obviously were not able to spit out. They were thrown out without a second glance. Thankfully, after their seventh or eight try, they met with a doctor who was kind enough to treat Kiyoshi for free. It was later discovered that he had fractured a few small bones.

He gave him a thorough cleansing of his wounds, and handed out advice for the proper care of his broken bones. The doctor had offered medicinal prescription, but of course, Kiyoshi being Kiyoshi, he declined. It wasn't in his character to impose on others, much less receive expensive medication for free after already accepting complementary help.

He was determined to get well by himself.

Hence, the road toward recovery became slow and tedious. But if it was what it took to get their friend back on his feet, they would do absolutely anything at all and time was definitely not going to be an issue.

After another incident, they made an additional mutual agreement that forbade Riko and Momoi to aid them in coin hunting. It wasn't as if they thought any lower of the female prowess - because they've been proven wrong more times than their masculinity could handle - but more so due to the fact that the last time they went out with the guys after hours, Riko was almost violated by a drunkard. Thankfully, Aomine and Kagami were able to arrive on the scene in time. They gave a brutal beating to the drunk (at least, that was how they liked to tell the story – Kagami insisted that it was the truth but no one could blame anyone if they didn't believe the story. The man was huge after all.) and escaped shortly after without a single scratch.

So it wasn't difficult to reach the mutual decision that it was probably much safer and not to mention smarter if the girls were to stay in the security of the shadows after the sun had gone down.

"All right," They stopped in their tracks as Kagami rested his hands on his hips, and as usual, started throwing out instructions without turning around. "We'll commence the treasure hunt now. I'll take the left wing, Daiki you take the Eighth Street and Kuroko you take this one. You know the rules." He scratched his head and yawned, "The person who collects the most treasure gets to have the honorary title of being the winner of tonight's game, and the losers….. well. Okay, so we'll meet back here after we're done." He finished as he immediately started walking away, grumbling something that to Kuroko sounded something like, "Just don't get injured or caught." under his breath.

"Tsk. Fuckin' Eighth Street." Aomine muttered, "That poor excuse of a place. Why couldn't he have taken that dirt instead, Kagami that son of a-" His voice trailed off as he followed suit and headed off to his assigned destination, his signature snarl forming on his face.

Kuroko watched the backs of his two beloved brothers disappearing around the corners, before himself turning around to look for coins.

It was a chilly night and a matching wind stirred the air. Kuroko shivered, folding his arms across his chest to preserve body heat, but to no avail. He rubbed his palms together, wishing he'd thought ahead to bring along a scarf. The yellow glow of streetlights illuminated the pavement, spilling all around like watered-down apple juice, warm and attracting moths that fluttered high above his head.

He made a turn past an end into a wide alley, where he intended to start off his quest.

It was kind of ironic, really. Because if they really gave it a thought, children would normally play games like treasure hunts just for the fun of it, but here they were, doing so because they didn't have any other better way to look at a situation so miserable. It was a treasure hunt all right – but one that had their lives hanging on it. How full their stomachs could be in the morning would depend on how much they managed to 'dig' up tonight. Rations couldn't last forever, and its capabilities were limited to feeding the family of seven each to a maximum of one full meal per day. They needed the insurance and they figured out the best way to do so was by scavenging.

Kuroko was aware, at a young age, of their situation. But as much as everybody would have liked to label him as expressionless, he was far from being emotionless. Even if he appeared to be so, he was probably doing it deliberately. The last thing he wanted was to aggravate any situations, or further dampen anyone else's already depressed feelings by revealing his own dejecting ones. Hence, he figured the least he could do was not play a part in any situation escalating far higher than it needed to be. He realized that there was nothing safer, but also more dangerous than pretending he didn't care. Head cool, not heart. Rare wise words from local folks (but mostly the guy at the end corner of the rusty bar, who was always chanting something about apocalypses and handing out free reasons why one should never stick their foot in their mouths, which naturally, everyone was extremely grateful for) and he was damn well intending to stick to it.

Something was reflecting the light from the moon straight into his eyes, and it bothered him so much that Kuroko had to squint and he frowned. He stuck his neck sideways to exit the line of blinding light. But exactly like he heard a couple say a few days ago (who, when they saw him enter the back lane, screamed. This left poor Kuroko confused, because Aomine had blushed and told him to shut up when he questioned him about the unusual position they were in - perhaps they were contortionists, the circus had been in town that week), his frown turned upside down almost instantly when he realized the identity of the object.

He had found treasure.

And to think it had only been five minutes since the game had started. If things could only proceed down this smoothly for the rest of the journey, he would finally, for once, win this bloody game.

Kuroko slowed down to a stop as he crouched down to pick the round metal object up from the pavement, dusting off the surface with his yellowed shirt. He admired his lucky coin for a little while, before stuffing it into his pocket. He glanced up to the sky above him as he stood back up, admiring the luminescent stars that screamed to him, demanding his attention in the deafening silence that enveloped the area. He smiled. There was nothing he loved more than relishing nature at its peak.

He made a movement to turn back around when a piercing bawl broke the still atmosphere, sending chills up his spine as he stopped in his tracks. It was highly disturbing in all manners, and even though incidents like these were not at all uncommon around this area, Kuroko wasn't one to ignore such blatant cries for help. Even if he was tiny - the label everyone seemed to love sticking on him - , he still felt compelled to lend a hand to anyone that needed it despite the countless attempts made by his siblings to warn him about the dangers of helping strangers.

Slowly and cautiously, Kuroko crept toward the direction of the scream, instinct kicking in as he lifted his feet ever so lightly as he walked. He poked his head around the wall that separated the alley to the next, frowning as he looked upon the scene.

Two middle-aged men were pressing a younger lady up on the hard brick wall, taunting her with obscene words as they proceeded to grope her.

Kuroko felt the familiar sense of irritation and anger surface up. He felt his limbs moving forward on their own accord, with all the intention of gathering the men's attention and stopping their crude actions.

But how would he stop men twice his size, you ask? Simple, by crossing the bridge when he got to it.

Well, call him impulsive if you must. But Kuroko being who he was, he'd rather take the chance - even if they were just a diminutive and deformed figure. He was aware of his own physique and capabilities but he'd be damned if he didn't do at least something to help the woman caught up in their mischief.

But thankfully for him, it seemed like someone had also been watching the developing events. They were one step faster than him in their heroic acts – because just as Kuroko was about to step out into the light, an obscured figure zoomed past him. With both the element of surprise and speed on the hero's side, he was unsurprisingly able to knock both of the men off their feet.

Kuroko's immediate response was bemusement. Because firstly, the look on their faces as they scrambled around the floor trying to get their bearings back were past comical. Secondly, the fact that the woman's (possibly even his) savior appeared to have materialized out of literally nowhere, was actually a little, if not very, bizarre.  
The hero apparently had a form, which it embodied immediately after as an ordinary tall blonde male, as if he was nothing more than simply that when only a few seconds ago, Kuroko believed he had performed an incredible feat.

His attire was slightly rugged and not to be overly critical (because really, who was he to judge), but Kuroko thought authority and respect was something it definitely did not scream. He had on a long-sleeved yellowing raglan shirt, that laced up at the top and had bits and pieces of fabric sewn in random areas, an aspect Kuroko himself was drastically acquainted with. The cargo pants he had on looked old and re-used and his covered-up shoes both torn and muddied.

"You fellas looking for some fun?" The young boy watched from the safety behind the wall as the mysterious blonde taunted, crossing his arms in the process as he started inching closer towards them. Despite his poor dress code, it wasn't hard to tell who played the intimidation card better. His back was to Kuroko but from the sounds of it, it was highly likely that a smirk was plastered on his face. Well, Kuroko thought, as he started to turn away, if this was how things were going to go down, perhaps he didn't have to play the hero this time round and let someone else take the glo –

You know what, scratch that. Kuroko sighed and he paused as the man began taking a step forward, only to literally trip over himself and land on the floor with all the gracefulness of a poised queen. He clasped his palms over his mouth and barely swallowed down a bark of laughter as the man struggled to stand back up again, only to knock over a trash can to his left, which in turn created a domino effect and knocking over several others. The man groaned, rubbing his ass as he whipped his head around, looking genuinely offended at the fallen trash cans.

"Rude." He muttered discontentedly as Kuroko let a slip of laughter escape.

What an entrance.

Silence draped over them all like a curtain, and the duo in front of the blonde looked like they were trapped between hilarity and anger, as anyone in their position would have thought the man was mocking them. After a bated breath, they seemed to have made a decision and chose for the latter emotion, as their expressions instantly changed from bewilderment to hostility, and they took a defensive stance.

Something behind Kuroko cracked and out of pure instinct, he jumped around, heart pounding, only to realize it had just been a rat. It could have only been a fraction of a second he looked away when apparently he had already missed the crux of the situation.

Because before he knew it, the sounds of heated shouting bounced off the walls into the night sky, and the distinct pull of a trigger was heard along with a collapse of a body.


	2. The Beginning : Part I

The Beginning – Part I  
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.  
.  
Several more blood-curdling screams followed as bodies from behind rushed past him. Thankfully through his peripheral vision, he noticed the woman fleeing toward the opposite direction of two men – neither of whom were blonde - , who only bothered to spare the interloping child an irritated glance, before too, dashing away from the scene.

That must've meant that the hero of the day had been shot.

But at least the damsel was saved.

Everything had happened in a flash when his back had been - fortunately or unfortunately, he couldn't decide - facing the crime scene. His thoughts were racing and chasing each other like snowflakes in a winter storm, jumbled up and simply in a mesh of indecipherable words. His breath came out in sequences of jagged puffs and Kuroko felt as if the air around him had been completely sucked away. He hadn't been entirely able to comprehend what had just happened because no matter how hard he had tried; his mind just wasn't able to wrap itself around… what… had exactly happened? Kuroko was after all, still a seven year old. The possibility of witnessing a murder was simply too much for him to understand.

This wasn't a game anymore.

It had stopped being a game of treasure hunt the minute he rounded the corner.

The things he did for money. He shifted his attention to his opened palms, where they laid shaking furiously by his knees. No, this wasn't the time to panic. He still  
had to see if that blonde idiot was still breathing – because for all he knew, that gunshot might not have been fatal.

And Kuroko might not have just witnessed a death.

The thought pushed him on, and he decided that there wasn't a moment to lose as any hesitation could quite literally cost a life.

So as if by instinct, Kuroko felt his senses waking up, invoking a rush that glided through him and infusing his muscles with energy. He was determined to get back up - even as his heart began to hammer like a battle drum as he struggled to do so. He held on to the walls for support, just in case his knees decided to betray him, before taking a large breath and turning around.

Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as he had expected, but it was enough to make his insides churn. The opposite wall was splattered with the dark sickly color of red, and a large portion of the floor was painted in a similar color. Lying in the middle of it all was a familiar looking blonde.

Kuroko's stomach began to swirl as he bent down, emptying it on the soiled ground. He choked, wiping his mouth on his sleeves and cringing as he realized he had just stained the fabric before standing back up again. But this time with much more determination, he started walking straight towards the motionless man. The man's shirt had been stained red. The bullet had been pierced through his upper chest, and from the looks of it, it had barely scraped past his heart.

He tried to ignore the heavy smell of iron that drifted in the air as he squatted down right beside the man. Blood was already quickly soaking into the soles of his slippers. Kuroko's hands persisted to shake as he reached out to check for breathing signs from his nostrils. He placed his finger in front of his nose for a couple of seconds. Nothing.

He retracted his arms, taking another deep breath before proceeding to check for a pulse on his wrist. But still, there was nothing. And as much as Kuroko would've liked to convince himself otherwise, the signs were undeniable, and the conclusion was definitive.

The man was dead.

The thought, and subsequently realization of that freaked him out so much he jerked his arm back and dropped to his arse, before recoiling back to the wall behind him. He felt a particularly sharp object graze through his palm as it rubbed past the floor and he knew, from the burning sensation he felt, that it was going to develop into a deep gash. But as of right now, that wasn't at the top of his priority.

There wasn't a single soul around, and he doubted there would be any for a couple of streets down. It was way past midnight and no one in the right mind would be strolling down the streets at an hour like this. But even so, he found himself taking a glance around the area, keeping silent for a few moments, in attempts to capture any signs of life.

But the only thing his ears could attune themselves to were the flapping sounds of overhead birds with the accompanying croaks of frogs hidden within the cluster of bushes. He figured that was as close to any form of life he was going to find for a while.

That is, if the man in front of him was really dead.

Kuroko was stuck frozen in place again and found his body incapable of any motion. Fear gripped him terribly hard, as he switched his attention back to the inert body lying in front of him.

But then all at once, the body wasn't so motionless anymore.

It wasn't as if he had been praying for the man to be dead - because trust him, the list of his traumatizing life events were already dramatic enough to be made into a sitcom, and the last thing he needed was an episode titled, "I buried him but he wasn't dead." - but at the same time, Kuroko wasn't sure if he liked the idea of a dead man coming back to life. At first, Kuroko spotted signs of twitching fingers, movements so subtle it had been almost impossible to catch. Then as if a switch had been flicked, the man stuck his nose up in the air sharply, neck craning off the ground in an awkward twisted manner, sniffing as he started feeling around on the floor, like a blind man looking for his cane. Except the cane, in this case, happened to take the form of a bloody glass shard, which he snatched up in his hand once it was within his reach.

Kuroko frowned once he realized the shard had been the object which had injured him. His frown eventually deepened when he recalled the more pressing matter; that not a few seconds ago, the active man in front of him wasn't supposed to be, well, active, and in fact very much dead.  
He was positive he had checked for both his pulse and breathing earlier and though he was still a child, it wasn't hard for him to reach a conclusion when he failed to find signs of either. He'd heard talks of miraculous recoveries – but surely this was pushing the limit?  
The deafening silence surrounding him pierced through his thoughts as a cold breeze swept past him, delivering chills down his spine. He shivered - but whether or not due to the cold he wasn't sure.

His hair started standing on ends as he watched, when the tired man started pushing himself up into a sitting position, groaning uncomfortably with parted lips, as if waking up from a long slumber.

He stared in absolute horror when the man then proceeded to bring the glass shard up to his eye level, observing, no, it looked more like he was studying, the gradual drop of blood, his blood, being pulled down by gravity and splattering on the floor, draping it with more crimson. He faltered for a second, staring at the glass shard with fearful intensity, before shoving the entire piece into his mouth, eyes fluttering shut as his face conformed into what Kuroko imagined was to be a blissful expression.

Kuroko felt his face twisting into a disgusted expression, eyes growing wide and he stared in shock. Because - What the hell? Was the only coherent thought he could piece up from the collection of thoughts speeding about in his head. What the hell was going on?

Kuroko wavered and tried to gather his thoughts. So first, he appeared from thin air, then he came back from the dead, and now he's shoving glass (fucking glass for god's sake) into his mouth? What exactly was this guy's deal?

The man paused again - but this time holding a different air to him. His eyes grew wide with sudden realization, as he yanked out the shard from his mouth, fervidly tossing it aside with such force that it shattered the glass into many further pieces. Kuroko thought his next expression resembled pure terror, as he stuck out his tongue mid air, viciously wiping it with his sleeves for a few seconds before apparently giving up, dropping his arm to his side and staring at the ground in silence, looking completely defeated.

As if suddenly aware of his presence, he froze as the blonde swiftly craned his neck to face him. His expression changed yet again to slight bemusement as he watched wearily at the terrified boy in front of him, tilting his head in such a manner that reminded Kuroko of a lost puppy.

Anxiety struck him again for what seemed like the hundredth time that day alone. But Kuroko decided that his fear was misplaced. This man did after all, die- no, risk his life to save a stranger, and for that, he felt, wasn't something someone who was meant to be feared would do.

But before Kuroko could react, the man shook. His upper body started twisting in what looked to Kuroko to be a highly uncomfortable posture to be in. And then all at once, his shoulder blades began spreading apart from their original position on his body, pulling themselves in the opposite direction, and his joints started convulsing in an abnormal manner, cracking and twisting a hundred and eighty degrees around, in ways that made Kuroko's stomach churn as he heard the audible crunch of the man's bones. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought the man was having a terrible seizure. Kuroko wasn't able to move, but only watch in fright as the man's expression turned once more, but this time taking on a look that resembled pure physical pain as he began coughing.

And he began coughing up real bad.

And that became the last straw. Kuroko couldn't handle being a by-stander anymore.

A few minutes ago, this man was as good as dead. He neither had a pulse nor displayed any sign of life. But now the same man was (well, sort of anyway) up and about, albeit in much more pain, but still alive - and breathing. Kuroko wasn't going to watch him die a second time. No matter what was going on, it could wait till everything had been settled - until he could assure that the man's life wasn't in danger anymore.

He gathered his thoughts as they began to settle within his head and this time, with far more confidence and determination than before, he pushed himself off the floor and started walking steadily to the man, who was on the verge of sobbing. He felt his legs beginning to wobble, threatening to give way as he took in the scene. Apparently, the series of terrifying fits had only lasted for ten seconds, as the man's bodily parts had began to settle back into their original positions, grinding and sliding back, and placing a look of ultimate relief on both their faces.

Just one foot in front of the other, he breathed, calming himself down. That's right, baby steps. Kuroko squatted down directly in front of the man and reaching out his hand tentatively, he grabbed him by the shoulder and he shook him lightly. "H-hey, can I do anything to help?" He asked, voice quivering a tad bit. There was no denying the anxiety that laced his voice. The man didn't respond. But whether due to him being in as much pain as he appeared to be or just purely ignoring him, Kuroko wasn't able to confirm. However when Kuroko repeated his offer, the man reacted, squinting his eyes through his sweat-matted fringe as he forced them open and turning to look straight at him, chest shaking heavily.

At first when all he did was to stare, he began to question whether he made the right decision of approaching him. Because after all, Kuroko was known for making brilliant choices in his life.

But the hesitation had only lasted for a split second, before he made a conscious effort to eradicate the selfish thought from his mind. If he had left him here, per se, without knowing whether the man who played hero in his stead would die tonight, Kuroko knew that he would never be able to live it down. So if this was how he was going to die, so be it. At least he would die knowing it was for a cause he felt was right.

Because at least there wouldn't be any regrets. The man had almost stopped convulsing by now and laid sprawled on the floor, looking deflated of energy. He focused his attention on Kuroko and looked at him absurdly, with questioning eyes so bright it made Kuroko feel dizzy.

Then as if the entire situation wasn't complex enough as it was, the man began to laugh.

But it was only for a heartbeat before he started choking out series of violent coughs again, clutching at his stomach and squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Kuroko eyed him weirdly, as he wondered why the man was clutching at his abdomen when the bullet was embedded in his chest. In most situations, Kuroko would've found it peculiar, and might've even brought it up as a question. But this, he decided, wasn't under the category of 'most situations'.

"Hey kid, go home." He whispered lowly, laughter dying away with the words.

"Why? I want to help." Kuroko replied, "Let me help you."

"Listen kid," the man said softly. "You're adorable - but you should go, like, right now. It's not safe." He parted his lips and looked like he was about to add something else on but decided almost immediately against it as he closed them shut, stifling a cough.

"No."

"W-what?"

"I said no. You're injured, and I want to help." Kuroko insisted adamantly, giving the other party no leeway for any rebuttal as he retracted his arm from his shoulder, placing it on his knee.

The man looked so confused that if taken out of context, would have been actually pretty funny. If Kuroko hadn't been at such close proximity, he'd had definitely miss the smile that had slipped onto the man's face for a millisecond, before disappearing like it had never been there.

The man creased his brows. "Why? I'm a complete stranger and no one to you. I could hurt you, or maybe even kill you right now, and no one would ever know. I could be a serial killer and you'd never know." He paused, coughing dryly, as he continued, "This could all be a plot to kidnap you, and you'd still never know until it's too late."

"But it's not." The reply came almost immediately. Yes, he was seven. But Kuroko was astute enough to know when a man was trying to manipulate him and when a person was an honest to god unlucky chap who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And he was definitely smart enough to tell apart the good guys from the bad ones. 

Probably.

"And you're not a serial killer." He finished.

The man puffed in annoyance, blowing his hair aside. "But how can you be so sure?"

"Because a serial killer would have never risked his own life like you did to save a lady that was a complete stranger and no one to you."

Apparently, that managed to crack out a laugh. "Using my own words against me huh, where'd you learn that kid?'

Kuroko had never been too fond towards the use of that age term on him – even though they were both aware that it was only appropriate for kids his age. He hadn't even reached the age where it was socially acceptable to yell "I'm not a kid anymore!" to random strangers bleeding to death on the street.

"Can I help?" He repeated calmly.

"That's not really a question now, is it? You've made that part pretty clear." The man chuckled, wincing slightly at the little effort that made his chest sting.  
"And that too, isn't really a question, is it? What do you need?" Kuroko retorted, questioning him in the process. He was vaguely aware of the fact that some small, minuscule part of him still feared the man, because after all, he had witnessed him doing some pretty incredulous things firsthand, and it was literally during the first five minutes of simply observing him. But he decided to ignore that little part, and pushed it away.

Well, at least for now.

The man looked at him and his eyes dropped. A few still seconds ticked by before he decided to break the silence with a faint voice. "You can't give me what I wa- what I need. And even if you could, it wouldn't be enough." He looked away, facial expression mirroring a sad puppy. "Bleeding to death in an alley past midnight with a random blue haired kid. Well, check that off my bucket list then." He chuckled weakly, lips paling even more than before. Kuroko found it amazing how he still found it within him to be able to crack jokes even as he was actually dying.

"Don't say that, please. You're not going to die." Kuroko sighed, as he patted the man's head, causing him to flinch at the contact. "It's not the end yet. So please tell me what you need and believe that I'll get it for you. Let me help, please."

The man looked at him once more. "A-are you sure?" He replied, tone weaved with uncertainty as he fluttered his eyelids shut, energy visibly deflating.

"Yes. Please hurry, you don't seem to be doing too well." Kuroko said hastily, craning his neck to do a once over on the guy. For a while, no reply came back and the man was so still that Kuroko found himself beginning to worry whether he had been a few seconds too late, and his concern and time was all spent for naught.

"Come closer."

The sudden words cracked his concentration as he stumbled for a reply. "W-what?"

"You want to help right? Come closer. Please." It came out soft and slowly, as if he had been considering his words right up till he had spoken. His dead tone matched the life that had been slowly, but surely draining out of him. It was much akin to a handful of sand that slips through closed fingers, with an unstoppable gravitational pull exerted on them - resulting in the inevitable loss of more grains as each second ticked past, and no matter how tight the grasp on them was, the palm would soon be empty, devoid of any life. He was frighteningly pale and Kuroko felt himself beginning to truly fear for the man's life. The blood from the bullet wound was quickly seeping out of his body like a broken dam, and his face was coated with layers of sweat, rolling down his forehead and past his eyes, where he quickly blinked them away.

If Kuroko hadn't been a child, and if the previous neon colored warning signs weren't as of good enough reasons to leave, he would've probably bolted out right then. He was getting too involved, and most of the time, that was equivalent to putting himself in danger. But despite all that, it hadn't managed to change the course of his heart and of course, even knowing the risks, he went closer, complying to the man's former request.

Kuroko shifted one foot in front of the other as he bent further down in his squatting position, twisting his head in an angle such that his ear was placed directly in front of the mouth of the auricomous man, ready and prepared to catch what fading coherence of words he could manage to spit out.

But instead of spouting instructions, or even speaking at all, the older male reached out with the arm that hadn't been crushed under his own body weight and grabbed onto the back of Kuroko's neck, before forcefully pulling the boy down towards him.

Kuroko gasped as he lost his balance and found himself caught in a situation wherein he desperately tried to place his hands – which had instinctively moved forward to keep himself from completely collapsing on the ground – somewhere else other than in the pools of blood collected on the ground, because honestly, that was just revolting. It smelt of copper and fish everywhere and he knew it was going to be tough to get the stench off his hand later.

His stomach churned and he gagged as the blood splashed up when his palms collided with the ground. He fiddled around but all that did was just to soak his clothes up in even more blood than before.

He had been too lost in trying to get out of the sickly liquid that he hadn't realized the man had already manage to prop himself up with his other arm, and his head adjusted in such a way that made his lips hover slightly above the nape of Kuroko's neck. His breathing was heavy and ragged, but his grip both firm and demanding.  
Not going to lie but at that moment, Kuroko was scared. The man seemed to have found brand new strength and concentration that made Kuroko wonder whether he had actually been near the brink of death a few seconds ago.

The younger boy finally stiffened as he found his breath caught in his throat. "Hey, W- wait, what are you-"

Without warning at all, the man leaned forward and bit his neck.

Kuroko froze in shock and time stood completely still for a couple of seconds, neither party making any attempts at movements.

"Um, pardon me for asking but.. Um, what, what are you doing?"

"An example." The man replied as he removed himself from Kuroko, simultaneously releasing his grip from his neck and dropping back down on the ground, where he rolled onto his back to face the starless sky.

"What? By… biting me?" Kuroko questioned incredulously as he quickly stood up, rubbing his neck confusedly. Because really, did the man literally just bite him? It had been so unorthodox, what the man did, that the child had completely lost all capabilities of word formation. He knew the man was weird but, wow. What was he trying to achieve? How a kid's fear tasted like? Who the hell went around biting a stranger's neck!

Though, at least all it left was saliva - it hadn't hurt at all so he presumed there wasn't going to be any bruises forming. "Scaring a child is a terrible thing to do. Not to mention that that was a little pedophilic as well."

"Pedophili- wha- hey! So mean! You know, if I had been one of them, you'd be dead by now." He snorted, looking offended yet at the same time slightly amused. 

"One of them?" He asked, out of all the questions that had been forming.

"Yeah," he coughed, closing his eyes as he clutched his stomach again, grimacing in pain. Why did he keep doing that? Had there been another bullet that went through him? No, that wasn't possible. Kuroko only heard a single gunshot. "Though I might be, that is, if I don't die now."

Kuroko frowned at that. Initially, he wanted to pursue the entire biting matter, but he decided to keep silent as he waited for him to continue. 

"I have to- well…. There's no easy way to put this across but, I sort of, um, must die." He finished abruptly. Kuroko raised his eyebrows. The man folded his lips and looked away. "I have to."

Well. That took an unexpected route. Was this guy actually saying what he thought he was? That he had to die? Kuroko found himself unable to find an appropriate enough reaction for his… declaration, and began to wonder if this man was actually even sane to begin with. He kept a neutral expression plastered on his face and he looked at the man, waiting for him to burst out laughing at his own joke.

But he didn't.

He just kept his eyes closed as his ragged breathing came out harsher. Finally deciding that he couldn't take the suspense anymore, Kuroko broke the silence. "What do you mean?"

The man coughed weakly, cringing at the strain it caused on his wound. "Tonight's the full moon. It's either… I, go or stay." The corner of his eyes went damp. "But if I do, I'll become one of…. Them. And I don't want to. I really, really don't." He whispered opening his eyes to meet Kuroko's as he crunched his nose.

He still hadn't quite been able to catch, much less understand, what the man had been blabbering about, because to him, what he said didn't make any sense. It neither had a beginning nor an end, which in most cases he presumed, would be quite challenging for most people to understand. But listening was his best attribute and if this guy's last night on earth was going to be tonight, the least Kuroko could do was to put it to full use and stay with this insane, eccentric man.

"Bless your heart, ki-" He said out of the blue, as he paused and drew his eyebrows together before offering a wired smile. "Someone just offered to save my life and I don't even know his name."

"Kuroko." He replied.

The man smiled, "Well bless your heart, little Kuroko. And thank you, for being here with me right now. I didn't know how much I needed it." He blinked, eyes unfocused as he struggled to keep them open. "I'm Kise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm somewhat vaguely aware a seven year old child living in the early nineteenth century with little to completely no education would probably not know the meaning of "pedophiles", and many other vocabulary words i put into the mouth of him as well. But hey, what are stories and imagination made for?  
> PS . Thanks for reading my story! I had a great plot in my mind that I hadn't been able to eradicate for a long time so I thought, hey why not put them into words!


	3. The Beginning : Part II

Chapter 3.1 : The Beginning - Part II

 

"I'm sorry." The man - or Kise, now that his name was known - apologized and chuckled abashedly. "How terrible of me to put an nine year old through all this. Oh and uh, sorry for biting you. I wanted to prove a point."

"That's okay." He replied, even though it really wasn't. Kuroko bent down again, moving closer to better be able to catch his words. "And I'm seven."

The man looked taken aback. "Seven! No kidding." He turned his head to get a better look of the boy. "Don't get me wrong, but, well, it's just that the way you spoke it was-"

"Mature?" Kuroko cut him off, as he knew that was what usually followed.

"Well, yeah, that too I guess. But that wasn't what I was about to say" Kise breathed weakly, response startling him slightly. There was a long pause between them as the older man stared at him, causing Kuroko to squirm under the intense scrutinization.

"Sad."

"What?" He blinked.

"That was what I wanted to say. I'd never thought a seven year old would've been put through this much crap. The way you spoke, and the whole look you have going on in your eyes - it's just," he frowned, gesturing with his arms waving in the air as his eyes watered. "I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi."

There were so many questions manifesting in his mind right about then, but the genuine sincerity in his quivering voice dulled Kuroko's senses as he stood there, dumbfounded with words.

"I don't know what you've been through, and I can't change what has happened but I do want you to know, that you have a light in you, and it's so, so bright. Don't let the circumstances blow it out." He ended, looking straight in his eyes as he extended an arm in attempts to embrace the child, but dropped it soon after when he realized he neither had the strength nor energy to do so. Kuroko could see how much of a toll it took on his body to commit such a simple action like raising his arm.

"Let's not - let's not make this about me right now. Let's - let's just take care of you first." He stammered, unable to form thoughts, for he was lost in the quagmire of thoughts as he tried to divert the conversation toward another lane. The topic had became too emotional too fast and Kuroko wasn't sure he wanted to go down that path. No one had ever said something like that to him before, and he felt his heart warming with disbelief and if he dared say, possibly a tinge of happiness.

The man laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess that would usually be a better idea. Well, but the thing is, I get how much you do want to help me become better or something, but I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. It's not a condition that can be cured with by anything other than well, death..... And if not, many others would die." He added bitterly, looking ashamed.

"But there's always a solution." Kuroko offered.

"Solution!" Kise laughed. Kuroko could tell that he was very, very close to collapsing entirely and he wasn't sure if he wanted to be the last person this guy saw. "There's no solution! I'm as good as dead. There's literally no more point in living if I'm just going to be something like them when I-"  
Unfortunately for the blonde, he found his monologue cut short as he jerked when a force collided with his cheek. A few seconds went by before he realized that he had been slapped.

Granted the boy who slapped him had the strength of a baby fawn - and probably wouldn't be able to leave more than a scratch on him even if he did utilize all his strength - but still.

Kuroko had slapped him.

This clouded Kise with extreme confusion as he stared flabbergasted at him. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, despite not knowing the reason, and no matter what anyone said, having your face slapped hurts.  
Well, emotionally.

"Firstly, ow. Secondly, what the he- what'd you do that for!" Kise protested, recalling how it was bad manners to curse in front of a child. He rubbed his cheek as he attempted to prop himself up further with what little energy he had left on his elbow, but fell straight back down, grimacing as a bolt of pain shot down his chest.

"Because you deserve it." Kuroko answered, managing to look both mad and dead panned at the same time."You shouldn't speak like that Kise-kun."

"Because I deserv- How is it my fault! I'm the victim!" He protested weakly.

"Kise-kun I don't know what's going on, or what you've been through as well. But nothing's too hard that the only way through things is by death." Kuroko said, "I've been brought up for seven years living in the dumps and struggling every day to get even a single meal. Sure, life can be tough and it can damned well be trying, and sometimes I'd feel like ending things - but by ending things I mean by finding the solution to the problem, and never by death. I choose to live because even though right now I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel - I know it's there. And it's going to get better. Good people never suffer for too long and from what I've seen, Kise-kun, you're officially at the top few in my list. It's selfish of you to think like that - and even more so to say that to a child. I bet there are so many people around you who care, and I think you should consider sparing a thought for them." He finished.

After that there was silence, as Kise stared at him, stupefied. He didn't think there would be a moment in his life where he would find himself at this lost for words. On hindsight, being told off and preached on by a seven year old who made complete sense was probably either extremely embarrassing or enlightening - perhaps even both.  
He diverted his gaze to the floor for a few seconds, before reaching out his arm and signaling for Kuroko to go closer again.  
"You're not going to bite me again, are you?"

Kise laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the kid adoringly. This time, he succeeded in pulling himself upright into a sitting position as he extended the other arm and wrapped them around the little child, who returned the hug without hesitance, tears already threatening to spill out of the man's eyes.

"Thank you," Kise whispered quietly, tightening his hug, "I'd never thought there would be a day where I'd be taking advice from a child, let alone said child being seven."

"It can't be that bad Kise-kun. Besides, even if it is, your life is yours to make the decisions, and at most you can just run away from it all." Kuroko replied jokingly.

He laughed again, "I might take that into consideration."  
It was ironic, Kise felt, how he'd only known Kuroko for less than a few hours, and yet he already felt like the boy knew him better than most people in his life did.  
Watching the kid so motivated and determined for him to keep his own life, he decided he couldn't bear to tell him the truth - that he'd be dead in a few minutes, whether they'd both like it or not. The only question was whether the full moon would arrive first, or the natural tolerance he had for his injury would run out before.

"Thanks, Kurokocchi." He said, ending their short, but meaningful embrace as he completely deflated on the ground.

Kuroko looked like he was about to add something else on when Kise tensed. His eyes grew wide as he stuck his nose up in the air, his ears picking up what could only be the sound of a familiar but dreaded presence.

Wait.

No.  
Please.

Not now.

Kuroko seemed to notice something was off about Kise as he perked up and looked around suspiciously, before directing his questioning gaze to him.

"Kuroko you have to go." He coughed lightly and started pushing himself up, lightly shoving the boy away from him, which only ended in him choking out more blood.

"Kise-kun!" Ku exclaimed, ignoring his protests and rushed to his side, helping him up.

"You... need to go." He said breathily, weakly trying to shove him away again, as his vision blurred back and forth. "You... Please just - They're.... They're coming."

If he left now he might still have a chance.

He has to leave.

He has to leave right now.

"Wh- I don't - Are you okay, Kise-kun?" Kuroko bent forward again, now feeling extremely concerned - because who wouldn't be if someone in front of you began violently expelling blood out. He extended his arms toward Kise in an helpful gesture, despite his numerous desperate pushes.

"GO!" Kise begged, looking around frantically, momentarily forgetting about the sharp bolt of pain that shot up as he did so, before turning to meet his eyes. "Please, just please go. I don't want to lose someone I've just met... Not again." He added, gritting his teeth as his eyes drooped.

Kuroko hesitated, seemingly considering what Kise just said. But not a few seconds later, although he still hadn't quite grasped on to the situation, Kuroko seemed to finally understand the gravity of it as he nodded gravely, taking a step back and turning to leave.

But as luck would have it, it was always one step too late.

The distant rustling sounds Kise picked up came closer and became audible to Kuroko, as shadows started taking forms around the corner, growing with every breath they took as they inched closer.

Kuroko paused as he noticed the change of atmosphere, and turned around to find distorted silhouettes illuminated under the yellow streetlights. He froze, breath caught in his throat, knowing the only thing it spelled was trouble.

In an overwhelming state of panic, Kise did the best thing he could've come up with in that moment, and shoved the terrified blue-haired boy behind two trash cans about a metre away from him, frantically motioning for him to keep quiet with his index finger placed on his lips. The sudden force made Kuroko fall back with a thud, but he quickly scrambled up and took his space within the safety of the shadows, back pressing against the rough brick wall.

Kise shut his eyes, hands moving to grab at his stomach harshly. It felt like his insides were ripping themselves apart, both physically and mentally, pulling and scratching against his muscles and tearing down his quickly diminishing willpower.

He just wanted everything to be over as quickly as possible, because honestly, it hurt like hell. But at the same time, he found himself not willing to go anywhere until he was able to affirm the safety of his tiny savior. Tears pooled in his eyes once more, as he mentally slapped himself.

He just had to put everyone in danger didn't he? He just had to keep. messing. up.

And he supposed the overflowing pile of mess ups could only eventually be chipped in to result in a day like this. Now he got what he deserved and he was going to lose the only person who had shown a shred of pure kindness toward him for the past few months. But trust that he was damned well willing and prepared to give up everything to prevent that from happening.

Well, that is, if he still had anything left after this.

He prayed for the slight glimmer of chance that for bloody once, things would go his way, and his little friend would not be discovered. Depending on who was arriving, they could be extremely unpredictable at times and after what Kise had done, he wouldn't be at all surprised if they refused show him mercy anymore - let alone to some kid they found eavesdropping.

He blinked the thoughts away with the tears collecting in his eyes, as he pushed himself up on the opposite wall, grimacing as he clutched at his chest tighter. He wasn't able to decide whether his chest or stomach hurt more - because after all, one had a bullet trapped an inch away from his heart and another was a gradual, torturous change going on with his diet. He decided it didn't matter as they both were hurting like a bitch.

Kise leaned back against the concrete wall as he sighed heavily. What he did to deserve all of this, he didn't know. But he knew the least he could do right then was to direct the attention away from the boy.

There was a storm hanging over his head and to say he wasn't prepared was an understatement.

He watch in dread as two figures emerged from around the corner and walked up to him, their capes flapping dramatically behind them with every step they took.

Kise looked away, straightening his back to look tough even though his insides were practically spilling out all around on the ground and he was trying his best not to clutch at them too tightly. It took all his willpower not to look at the direction of the trash cans.

Before he knew it, a pair of large feet in slightly tattered fabric shoes had stopped in front of him. Kise persisted looking at the ground, before the owner of them got down on a knee, ducking his head in attempts to place himself in front of the blonde's line of vision.

Kise knew it was Midorima, because living together for that many years had familiarized him with each of their mannerisms and of course, their individual anatomy. He heard the other man sigh, as he took a once over on him. He reached into his shirt and pulled out something, but before Kise could retaliate, he pressed the object on his chest, causing the injured man to grimace and flinch away as it rubbed against his wound.

"Hold this to your chest, it'll slow the bleeding." Midorima commanded, lightly urging Kise to accept his aid, which the blonde surprisingly acquiesced to, reluctantly lifting his hand to accept the pressed cloth as he tightened his jaw.

"I would ask you what happened but I have a feeling I'm not going to get an answer." He said. "It's beginning, and we're in a rush. So I'm just going to get straight to the point. Father's mad. He wants you home."


	4. The Beginning : Part III

Kuroko watched in silence at the scene from the safety of his position. Two men had joined Kise and was now walking up to him. Both had a dirty brown velvet cape hanging over their shoulders that fluttered under the influence of the wind. The hair of the taller man out both parties shone green under the moonlight as he presented himself first before Kise, and the shorter other, who had been trailing behind, had his hood draped over his head, preventing Kuroko from identifying him.

He caught himself feeling appalled. Kuroko wasn't sure what he had been expecting but he didn't think this was it. Perhaps he was waiting for robust intimidating kidnappers to drop out from the sky and drag Kise away in their ninja sack, but he knew the two men in front of him didn't seem to emit any intentions of hostility. In fact, they even seemed poised and anyone could tell, from the strong aura covering them like cologne, that they were above the average commoner - and that made Kuroko begin to worry.

They took a quick glance around their surroundings, eyes only pausing momentarily as it landed on the pool of blood three feet away from them. They stopped in front of an angry blonde as the green one got down on a knee and crouched in front of him, taking in Kise's ghastly looking blood-stained chest as he let out an audible sigh, before reaching under his coat and taking out an intricately decorated yet plainly colored handkerchief. Then without waiting for approval, he proceeded to press it against Kise's chest - who flinched away harshly as the fabric came into contact with him. He looked fairly unhappy with the sudden intrusion but surprisingly, showed no resistance. Perhaps he was smarter than he looked - and acted, and spoke, and the list goes on, really - and knew it was better for him not to reject the assistance.

But this made Kuroko question their familiarity toward each other - because Kise's eyes reflected utter annoyance and if he wasn't wrong, possibly a little hatred.

Then, the man crouching down opened his mouth and began talking to Kise. Kuroko attempted to pry into their conversation - but they were conversing in whispers and were at a considerable distance away from him. He peeked from behind the trash cans, and noticed how Kise kept averting his gaze, refusing to meet the other man's eyes, no matter how hard the man tried to place his face in front of his ever-changing line of view. From what he could make out, a one-sided discussion seemed to be going on - with green haired over there desperately trying to get his words through and Kise practicing his brand new skill of pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Then all at once, the man's expression turned morose, as he muttered a few words, causing Kise to finally lift his face and meet his eyes in alarm. Kuroko wanted to know what in the name of god was going on, and goddamn he really wanted to - because after an exchange of beated breaths between the two, Kise shot a couple of words back, losing all his previous obstinate demeanor before harshly shoving the man. Of course, the desired outcome failed terribly as the man didn't budge an inch, and instead, clicked his tongue, irritated.

Finally, after what seemed like a fairly long time, the other caped man - who had been standing behind them like a shadow, watching silently as the conversation unfolded - stepped up. He couldn't see very well from his angle, as the man's hood was annoyingly obstructing his face, but from the shift of attention from the two men positioned on the ground to him, Kuroko knew he was about to speak. They exchanged not more than two sentences, and even from his spot Kuroko felt an unmistakable shiver run down his spine when Kise's eyes flashed golden with rage, before the blonde apparently had enough and yelled, "I said no!"

It caused a palpable fissure in the stagnant atmosphere and the sudden burst of exclamation startled Kuroko so much that he jolted up, arm colliding slightly into one of the bins, creating a soft - but loud enough in the terrible silence hanging over the alley - pang of metal. His eyes grew wide as all three men promptly turned and looked toward the trash cans, as a silence fell over their conversation. Two pairs of eyes were clouded with suspicion and the other was with dread.

Kuroko gasped, ducking his head behind as he receded further into the shadows, holding his breath as he pressed his back into the metal bins. Now he really wanted to know the contents of the conversation, but he realized he didn't have time to dwell on what the shorter man had said to Kise to result in such an explosive reaction, as right now, he was probably more concerned about whether he would be able to walk out of there in one piece. He thought his heart was close to hitting his ribcages and it was pounding so loudly in his own ears that for a split second he thought it would be the factor that gave his presence away.

Perhaps it was due to Kise's warning, but for some reason, he felt himself being staggeringly wary of the two men who joined. Something was off about them, though much alike to the odd situation concerning Kise, but in an entirely different way. The aura they gave off felt, well, not particularly dangerous... But definitely, in a way, more intense. And for that, he decided, had been a good enough reason to heed Kise's words and take cover.

Then, after a few uncertain seconds of apparent hesitation from the other team, he started detecting the discernible rhythm of footsteps drifting closer towards his direction. It was like a foreboding drum, signaling impending doom with every growing beat.  
Kuroko pressed his lips together in anxiety as he wiped his sweaty palms over his trousers, scanning around the floor for any possible object for self-defense. But the only thing that had been close to being able to cause damage was the former shard, and it was in ten thousand pieces. There hadn't been a moment in his life where he found himself at a complete loss for action than right now. He couldn't run - there was nowhere to hide - and he couldn't defend himself even if he wanted to. This was probably the worst case scenario taught in schools. Maybe he should've been paying more attention during lessons. But wait! How could he forget - he didn't go to a bloody school.  
He clenched his fist as he began to feel dizzy, a cruel reminder of the bad effects of oxygen deficiency. The footsteps were getting nothing but closer, and for a moment he found himself wishing they would just kill him already, just so the suspense would end. Desperate times call for desperate decisions, right? There wasn't any proper way to prepare oneself for a situation like this and hence, it pained him to admit so, but the only thing he could've done then was to fear for the worst. Kuroko squeezed his eyes shut, hand trembling as his nails dug into his palms. He sent his final silent prayers to his family as the looming footsteps got nearer and nearer and...

But just a second before the footsteps reached him, someone spoke up.

"WAIT! Wait! Wait, fine. Fucking hell fine. I'll go. Just-" A desperate voice said. Obviously, it could only have been Kise, who was trying to save him and for that Kuroko would be eternally grateful for.

The footsteps seemed to halt, and there was a long pause of hesitation from the person, and within those short few seconds Kuroko felt like his insides were about to collapse from anticipation and his mind about to combust from really unhealthy durations of deoxygenation. He heard the man sighing with what sounded like defeat before his feet shifted, presumably turning around and walking back to where Kise was. Kuroko waited for a couple of seconds, before exhaling, deflating in complete relief and ecstasy as he greedily inhaled the air as it rushed to occupy his lungs.

After getting his fill of oxygen, Kuroko stuck his head out tentatively from the trash cans, peeking out where he saw the green haired man picking Kise up gently but swiftly onto his now visible and very muscular arms, and cradled him in a position similar to how a baby would be. Kise was wincing in pain the entire time, and once, Kuroko thought he looked so pale whilst being hoisted up that he was going to die right then and there. Thankfully, a light shade of pink colored his lips before his imagination could get the better of him. Kuroko could tell that his friend was trying his damned best not to cry out in agony, and it was evidently a taxing effort for him not to do so. But despite his valiant efforts, his expression gave it all away. The green haired man frowned, looking visibly concerned as he tried his best to put as little strain on his injuries as possible - but one could only do so much when someone had a bullet stuck halfway through their chest.

For a brief moment, Kise met his eyes - and for a second Kuroko thought there had been assurance, and possibly even a tinge of gratefulness swimming in his eyes. But most importantly, Kise looked relieved, no - probably past that. There had been a range of emotions painted on his face, and it would've taken more time than Kuroko was given to fully decipher all of them.

But the weirdest thing that happened that night was, right after that, Kuroko had blinked.

And all three parties had vanished.

He didn't think it was a matter of simply exiting of his field of vision - but quite literally vanishing into thin air! Kuroko held onto the side of the trash can gently, careful not to make a similar mistake, as he took in a small breath, daringly sticking his head out from the shadows further as he scanned around the area, puzzlement and worry flushing throughout his system.

Had they just... disappeared?

His eyebrows creased together, as he opened his mouth, only to close them shortly after when he realized he was desperately at a loss for any coherence. For the hundredth time that night alone, Kuroko found himself thinking, What? He was positively befuddled, and the odd atmosphere around him did nothing to ease his confusion. At first the eerie silence had been deafening, to the point where it had been almost creepy. There were no signs of life spotted in the area where just only a few seconds ago, there had been three. The ground was covered in the ghastly sight of blood, and if someone were to ask, he would say the picture in front of him looked like the definition of his worst horror scene.

Kuroko began to worry as he felt his hair stand on their ends, shivering as he took in the very empty alley. Everything had been so still up to that moment - there wasn't a single rustle that stirred within the trees, nor the distant flapping of wings - that when he heard the audible sound of footsteps stopping right behind him, he wasn't sure if he had been hearing things. There wasn't the discernible rhythm of breath, but he knew, from the elongated shadow casted alongside his own, that there had been someone standing behind him that night.

Sometimes he would catch himself trying to convince himself otherwise, that it had all been part of his all too vivid imagination, that the events of the night were finally taking a heavy toll on him and he wasn't able to think straight. But no matter what he told himself, no matter how believable his own words were, he knew they were lies.  
When he whipped around frantically, there had been no one there. In fact, there wasn't a single notion that gave away the slightest hint that someone had been there at all. He blinked away the sweat that made their home on his eyelids as his vision blurred back and forth. The hairs on the back of his neck were still on ends, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched. But Kuroko had been seven then - and when you were seven you hadn't been taught to trust your own instinct yet. So he ruled himself as silly, as he let out an tired sigh. His imagination had always been off its leash, he thought, and he certainly wasn't expecting it to be any different that night.

"Ku! Are you done?" Kuroko jumped at the voice, pulling him out from his own reverie.

"Tetsu! Goddammit, where are you!"

With this, he found his thoughts disappearing along with the fading clouds that drifted above, as he stood back on his feet. Kuroko stared at the lonely sky, where the only thing present now was the abnormally large moon which bathed him and his surroundings with its luminous glow. He turned around and started walking out of the alley, careful to step past and over the blood pools collected on the ground as he rounded the corner and was met with two familiar looking pairs of worried eyes. They visibly heaved with ease once they saw that their little brother had been fine and in once piece. However their relief were short lived, as they soon turned into expressions of distress once they took in his bloodied attire. The older brothers rushed forward, panicking like mother hens as they began running their palms over his arms and turning him all over as they checked the younger boy for any injuries, all the while shooting questions like bullets in his face and interrogating him.

Kuroko had still been in a daze. He wasn't sure if he had been entirely sane that night. After all, who would be?

But the rest, like they say, was history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to leave a review ! All opinion and (constructive) criticisms are welcomed! :-}
> 
> -xelia


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
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NINE YEARS LATER

Kuroko sat at the edge of the square table. He picked up the spoon sitting beside the wooden bowl and slowly started scooping up its contents into his mouth. The soup was salty and over cooked, and frankly, bitterly plain - because after all, Riko was the one who had graciously offered to prepare it - but it was still delicious and plenty enough to fill his stomach. He wasn't one to complain about such trivialities - a few years ago there were very few things he wouldn't have been been willing to stoop down to to procure a bowl of soup, similar to the one he was consuming now. He wasn't going to get complacent just because things had been getting better for them.

Kuroko rubbed his eyes tiredly, stifling a yawn that threatened to escape. It was bad table manners, after all. He blinked a couple of times, clearing his foggy vision as he glanced around wearily, drinking in the tranquil sight.

Aomine was a few meters away across the room, sitting by the open wooden window in contented silence and languidly sipping the aromatic coffee in his chipped cup. He was cradling it tightly between both palms, like he was savoring the warmth and heat radiated by the morning drink, and Kuroko found that simple motion adorable. Kagami was sat beside him, focusing intensely on the newspaper he was holding up. His eyes ran back and forth, scanning the pages of printed words. Kuroko thought he looked intelligent like that, all focused, like this it wasn't that far fetch of a notion for him to pass off as a studious scholar-

"Dammit! I cant read this shit!" He slammed the papers on the table, crumpling the edges and breaking the comfortable silence that had settled around the house.

Well, scratch the scholar bit.

"What the fuck is a plethora? Is it a snake? I bet it's a snake." He announced, crossing his arms as he glared at the creased papers laying defeated in front of him.  
Naturally, none of them had gone to school - except for Hyuuga, who had received minimal education as he attended middle school for almost two years before he had to drop out. It's not like they didn't want to, per se, hell they'd give up a week - no, a month worth's of food for it. But for obvious reasons, they weren't able to attend school. And going without food for a month wasn't exactly the best way to get there. No matter what angle they looked at the situation, having no educational background was going to be a terrible handicap for them - for anyone, really.

So about a fortnight ago, Kagami being the stubborn little shit he was, decided to prove everyone wrong and declared confidently that he'd be picking up English.  
Yeah... It went as well as it sounded.

Of course, everyone had been skeptical at first and half of them believed him to be joking. But they showed their support no matter. In the beginning, Kagami showed surprisingly un-terrible results. He had actually been doing fairly well. Needless to say, everyone had been past appalled. He was able to say a few basic sentences after the short period of a only few days. They pestered him about his secrets and methods but he refused to divulge. It was only after he threatened to hide their clothes when everyone finally relented.

But now, well. Learning a language was naturally tedious and honing it required plenty of practice and usage. It wasn't very surprising for a beginner to feel frustrated after a few unsuccessful attempts.

And even more so for a certain hot tempered person.

Kuroko felt his lips tugging into a smile as he watched his brother vent his anger on the poor newspaper. Things had been going extremely well for the family of seven - well, when they took their circumstances into consideration. When they hit thirteen, all of them went out looking for jobs that would be sufficient to feed them. At first, their entire livelihood had been screwed up after joining the workforce. Everyone had been dead beat and in foul moods all the time that it had been almost practically impossible to communicate with one another without quarrels breaking out. But after a while, once they each started receiving their pension, things began to settle into their places. Slowly but surely, they found that they had enough money in their pockets to fill their stomachs.

Kuroko absentmindedly stretched his hand down as Nigou walked up to him, ruffling up it's fur tenderly. Nigou was their prized possession, one that they picked up on the streets. He had been abandoned, just like them. None of them had been particularly objective to the idea of giving it a home - save for, Kagami, who had poked it with a stick for the entirety of the discussion - and what was the harm of adding another member to their family? Hence and therefore, their little group had an additional member.

Kuroko thought of how Aomine had been the first of the trio to go job hunting. But he was followed soon by Kagami, who had been determined to match up to his qualifications. So naturally, they both got jobs at the same local construction factory. At first they served as page boys, as the work had proved to be too tough and straining for their little bodies. But as they hit fifteen, they were placed in separate departments and started off as official labor workers. It was taxing on them, sure, but the reasonable pay convinced them otherwise.

Riko picked up the job of selling flowers and little hand-made trinkets in the market every morning. She was hard headed and strong willed, insisting on the need to prove that she was able contribute to the family even though everyone had reassured her that there was no need. But the nineteenth century was merciless to women. The discrimination and requirements that weighed down on them had proved to be a challenge for females to find a willing employer. So after many unsuccessful attempts, she took matters into her own hands and forged a job for herself. Even though the little trinkets were sold at an unreasonably cheap price, Riko had put in her heart into every flower she picked, and every keychain she carved, and it was heartwarming for all of them to see her determination. In another time, perhaps she would've been a successful entrepreneur.

Moimoi, however, insisted on staying at home. Did he mention they had rented a small living area? Well, they did. It was cramped and filthy, but it was still better than anything they had before, and it was home. They resided in one of the small connecting houses facing the main road along the Sixth Street - it had been sort of an upgrade for them from the Eight. They moved a few years ago, when they were able to pool in enough cash for rentals. It was tiny, but it was more than sufficient. The air felt fresher and the grass was in fact, much greener on this side. The streets hadn't been loaded with as many thieves and men (or sometimes women) who happened to have an interest in the close inspection of the anatomy of children, and they considered that as a bonus for Riko and Moimoi.

Kiyoshi's leg had gotten better after a few years, although not fully and healthily functional yet, but well enough to pick up a night job too. He took up a mending job at the stables and in the process of all the exciting hours he spent scooping up dung, he managed to pick up a couple of neat horse tricks. Hyuuga still kept his night job. He would leave at around midnight everyday and would only return home in the early hours of dawn the next.

Because of this, their working schedules had ultimately crashed, and the time they had to spend with each other was left to only Sunday - which was coincidently more or less the only common free day shared between all seven of them. Hence, they took it upon themselves to ensure that their every Sunday was kept free.

Kuroko himself? He took up the spot of being the errand boy of the house, and everyone knew that, no matter how insignificant it seemed, it was the only job that had really connected everything together. They needed someone to run back and forth for them, collecting and delivering items for them and whether for work or personal, he would run them all. Even though doing so wouldn't be able to earn him a penny, he was contented to be of any help. He was referred to to be like a shadow, once. Because the others were always on the first line of work whilst he was always tying the loose ends behind the scenes. He didn't know if, by that, they meant so as an insult, but he certainly didn't take it as one. Shadows were, after all, naturally important, whether they'd like to admit it or not. It let's you know the presence of objects, and the stronger the shadow, the more it enhances the person's glow - and if anything, there was nothing more Kuroko wanted than for his family to shine at work.

Today had been the second day of the week. Riko was out with her Tuesday menu of flowers to sell, and Moimoi decided to tag along. It was like any other day. Kiyoshi had returned a few hours ago and was now out on duty - they had alternate shift days, and coincidentally enough, there were seven days for all seven of them - as it was his turn this time round to collect all their used clothes from the previous day and bring them to the river to scrub them clean. Everyone hated duty day for reasons none other than having to fetch literal puddles of sweat soaked in fabric for a mile.

Hyuuga had also returned, and was now resting in his well deserved peaceful slumber in the top bunk. Kuroko watched as his chest rose and fell heavily, dragging out long breaths each time he exhaled. He looked like he had a tough night. Figures, Kuroko thought. His work had to be by far, the toughest of them all. Working for the government was dangerous, no matter what angle they looked at it and no matter how he tried to convince them otherwise. One mistake and that was it.

For Aomine and Kagami, well, they were still having their breakfast and as usual, they would head out later together for work.

It wasn't unusual to see teenagers like them already slogging their guts out in the harsh streets. Some companies, if they were lucky, would take pity on their sizes and strengths, and assign them a lesser workload. But those had fallen under the category of just scatters. In fact, there were more than quite a handful of employers around who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of their age and exploit their naïvety, giving them twice as much workload but with the same amount of pay. Most of them though, just followed the Fair Employment Act and gave kids just as much work as everyone else - because going against the government wasn't exactly the smartest move to make.

Kuroko absorbed the peace and tranquility in the surroundings. It had taken so much to arrive at this stage, and although their mountain wasn't possibly even close to being the highest, the view at the top was still absolutely stunning. Each of them had slogged out their guts and given up buckets of blood and sweat - and they realized now that it hadn't been all for naught as they were finally able to pick the ripened fruits.

They had a proper place they could finally call home, when before it had been in the trash. They now had a dining table and unbroken cutlery and a bunk bed for goodness sake. A goddamned bunk bed. Although they had to take turns considering the plural form it was in, no one had uttered a word of discontentment. It wasn't much, but it was enough. And they were happy.

But of course, like every other universal thing, everything had to come to an end.

Because just as Kuroko had swallowed the final scoop of his soup, a terrifyingly loud blast shook their world.

The plates they had painstakingly gathered over the years started dropping off the shelves one by one, where they once were placed with pride. They smashed onto the ground, shattering into many differently sized pieces and scattering themselves all over the wooden floor. The delicate sound of the broken glass was accompanied by horrible screams that resonated through their ears and left them with a wave of panic and confusion. It was traveling their way, with voices all jumbled up and crashing together it was impossible to single out any one. It was a sickening realization that dawned on Kuroko which picked the pace of his heart up. Because at that moment, the world they had spent so long shaping into what it was had began to crumble.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kuroko reacted instantantly, quickly extending his arms to grab ahold of the tumbling china. But just as he was reaching out, another violent tremble knocked both him and the items on the shelves (and even the shelves themselves) off their balance. He raised his forearms defensively as he crouched slightly, in attempts to shield himself from the violent scene around him.

"Shit!" Kagami yelled, as he got up and rushed forward to grab ahold of a falling shelf.

Aomine dropped his mug and jumped up, craning his neck as he looked outside with panic. He placed a single hand on the window handle to balance himself from the shaking ground as they were sprinkled with dust and bits and pieces of wood escaping from the ceiling.

But it wasn't quite over.

Because after a minute or so, a loud booming noise blasted through the air, traveling from wherever the initial first two trembles came from. But that hadn't been as bad as the deafening high pitched sound that followed. Because it had been the only successful factor out of the rest that was powerful enough to make Kuroko's knees buckle against his will, and with nothing supporting his body weight, he crashed down to the floor, screaming. He covered his ears with his palms in a desperate attempt to save his eardrums as he curled up in a foetal position, feeling his throat turn numb and voice, hoarse.

It felt like a thousand - no, it was more by about a billion - massive nails were repeatedly drilling themselves into his brain, as the deafening sound pushed it's way past his consciousness, etching itself into his bones, so much that he was convinced they were possibly even vibrating within his body. His muscles felt limp, and he struggled to keep his palms on his ears (no matter how useless that action proved to be) as he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his forehead to the ground in what he felt to be nothing short of utter hopelessness and pain. What was going on? He felt like his mind was melting and his eyelids burned with the pressure he squeezed them in, as he was only left with enough effort to cry out in pain.

Kuroko hadn't been aware that tears had emerged from his little fit. He realized he had been crying when he felt Kagami shaking him violently by his shoulders. He took in a large breath he felt he was deprived of as he deflated on the floor, suddenly awake and aware again of his surroundings. Apparently the blast had been over in an instant but the effects he felt were defiant and refused to do the same. He clenched his teeth as he blinked the sweat away from his eyes, peering up slowly as he removed his palms from his face. Was it over? Was the pain finally gone?

Kagami was looking at him with a grave and concerned expression that only managed to relax slightly after they met each other's eyes, and Hyuuga was kneeling beside him, eyebrows weighed down by worry.

"Kuroko! Are you okay?" Hyuuga grabbed his cheeks as he tilted his own head to check for injuries. Kuroko felt like his insides were about to combust and his head was throbbing so loudly he thought everyone a mile away would be able to hear it.

"I don't - W-what, what happened?" He decided to ask instead, groaning as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head tiredly.

"You tell us." Aomine let out an audible sigh of relief from a few meters away, where he was lifting a fallen furniture off a terrified and now injured Nigou, who had curled up in his arms the minute he was picked up. "After the blast you started screaming and scared the fucking crap out of us. Then you collapsed on the ground. We tried asking you what was wrong but it was like you weren't able to hear us." He said, looking worried as he ran his hand over the dog's bleeding foot, walking towards him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hyuuga repeated, holding onto Kuroko's forearm in case it's strength decided to betray him.

"I'm okay, Hyu. Is Nigou all right?" Kuroko cocked his head, pushing his fringe out of his forehead as he questioned. They were drenched in so much sweat it made   
him wonder how long he was actually out. Kagami looked at him incredulously as he straightened his back. "You're kidding."

Kuroko blinked.

"Are you- You looked like you were literally dying and even now when we're not sure if you're truly okay, you're worried about the dog?"

"Hey. Just because you don't like animals doesn't mean it gives you a free pass not to care about them."

"What are you- I'm not- That's not even- Oh my god." Kagami ran a hand over his face in exasperation as he flopped down onto his butt in defeat.

"You know, you really gave us a scare," Aomine piped in, chuckling at their exchange of words. "For a minute there, you looked like you were about to..." he paused, cutting off his own words with an ominous tone. Even though he hadn't completed his sentence, it was clear that everyone in the room knew how it was going to end.

"I've never seen someone in so much pain."

"I'm sorry. I really don't know what happened. It was like the high pitched sound disabled me. But I think I'm fine now. Really." He added, noting the slight indication of disbelief that crossed their faces. "Sorry. I made you guys worry." He looked down, fiddling with his red palms and feeling slightly ashamed, but yet unable to blame himself for anything because he knew it couldn't have been his fault.

"Nonsense. It's our job to worry, you little shit. We don't know what happened either, hell I'm not even sure if I do want to, but we're just glad you're fine." Aomine sighed, smiling as he ruffled his brother's hair, but he paused suddenly, frowning. "Wait. High pitched sound? There wasn't any high pitched sound."

Kuroko felt his eyes growing wide. Wasn't any high pitched sound? Then what was all that? "Wha- There was! I could hear it. That's why I was..." He gestured, waving his hand at the floor.

"Kuroko, there wasn't any other sound. Well, except for the three loud blasts, there wasn't anything else." Hyuuga tightened his grip on his arm, his frown growing. "You sure you're all right?"

Was it just him then? He was positive that there had been a high pitched noise because he felt it in literally every bone in his body. But if even Hyuuga insisted that there wasn't, Kuroko began to doubt himself. He settled for a nod, frowning as he tucked in the information for future discussions with his subconsciousness, because he neither had the energy nor brain power left to talk about this issue.

He looked around. And trust when he said this it was by no means an exaggeration, that everything was in pieces - save for a single shelf that stood proudly over the rest of the debris left by the aftermath that their house was covered in. There were broken pieces of glass scattered all over the floor and Kuroko found himself sighing internally as he knew it was going to be a hassle to pick them all up. Pieces of wood had fallen off the ceiling some time during all the chaos and was now lying about, along with loose pieces of paper, decorating the area with splinters and sharp edges. His favourite bowl was crushed under the foot of a fallen table, and he spotted a tumbling radish in the corner of the room. Had he been unconscious for so long that he missed all of... this?  
"What... How long was I out?" He whispered, not quite fully taking in the surroundings yet.

"About ten minutes."

He was sure he looked positively appalled as he blinked. Ten minutes? He had been in that state for ten minutes? It hadn't felt like that long. It might have been because he was in too much agony not to notice, but to have felt how he did for ten straight minutes was past unbelievable, even if he was the one to actually experience it firsthand.

Kuroko shook his head, brushing off the scattering thoughts that made it their mission to confuse him further than he already was. "Are you alright, Hyu-san?" He asked, as he noticed how pale his brother was.

Hyuuga opened his mouth and was about to reply when a shrill echoed throughout their house, causing them all to turn sharply as another sinking feeling of dread overwhelmed them. How naïve they were to think their trauma had been over.

It had been so quiet after the final blast that it was almost eery. Of course, they should've expected more to follow. Because right till around then, the only sounds they could hear were the distant screaming, which led them to the unspoken conclusion that the terror had been happening far from them.

Unfortunately, that didn't really seem to be the case at all.

Aomine jerked up, but not before carefully setting Nigou down, and ran forward to yank open their wooden door, dashing out and forcefully grabbing ahold of a random person running past him. "Hey! What's going on?" He demanded at the fearful stranger.

"I- I don't -" he stuttered, eyes flickering everywhere but at the intimidating man, as he not so subtly tried to wrestle his arm free of Aomine's lion grip to resume his dash to god knows where.

"Hey hey hey, calm down." Aomine said, lowering his voice as he attempted to put the man's nerves back into their places, before roughly shaking the guy by the shoulders. This guy was truly a natural at this. "You calm?" The guy nodded. But whether he was actually so or agreed only because the man standing in front of him looked like he could pick him up by a strand of hair and toss him to the other side of earth, Kuroko wasn't sure.

"They're - the- they're attacking," he gestures frantically toward the direction he, and now many others, came running from.

"Attacking? What- Who's attacking?" Aomine stammered, now looking genuinely worried as his eyebrows creased together.

"I don't - They're coming from the market." The man panted, as his gaze finally decided to rest on Aomine. Their eyes widened as they turned to look at each other.

"The market?" His voice came out as a squeak.

"Boy, just take my advice. Run."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this relatively long chapter! I hope you guys like where the story is going so far because it's turning out somewhat like planned :^)  
> Don't forget to leave your reviews and opinions of the story! (Constructive) criticisms and suggestions are all welcomed!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5  
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The man let out a yelp of relief as he was finally able to wrestle himself out of the deathly grip Aomine had his arm in, before bolting away, sparing the blue haired man no second glance as he darted towards the opposite direction with trembling limbs, whimpering. Aomine spun around sharply to face them after a short pause. There was another loud boom that shook the walls and left dust raining on them. None of them even bothered to flinch, however. They had more pressing matters on hand.

His expression was of something Kuroko had ever seen him wear before, and it was nothing short of utter panic and rage. But to be fair, everyone in the room bore similar expressions. Because the realization that Momoi and Riko had left early to sell flowers that morning dawned on them so harshly, they all had to take a long moment to fully absorb the particular nugget that they were selling them in the market.

If the attacks had been positioned or centered around that general area, it was more than possible they might have been caught in the explosions. Noting this, their alarmed and distressed expressions were probably understandable, as they stepped instinctively forward to Aomine and closing the distance between all of them. Their sisters were in danger and that had automatically set them all on edge.

"I'll find them. I swear on my fucking life I will." He said without prelude, as he clenched his fist and stiffened his jaw, turning to meet the eyes of the three in front of him, which Kuroko presumed was supposed to be his form of reassurance. "And if they're hurt... then I'll kill whoever hurt them." His tone lowered dangerously, as he averted his gaze and he shifted it onto the wall behind them.

"I promise, I'll keep all of you safe."

And then all at once, he spun around on his heels and made a mad dash towards the market, leaving both his family and dust trails behind in his steps.

"Dammit!" Kagami exclaimed, slamming his fist on the wall beside him as his nostrils flared. "Stay here." He directed to Kuroko and Hyuuga as he turned around to face them, "I'm going to make sure that shit head doesn't do anything stupid." Then he too, spun around and took a step forward out of the door. But unlike Aomine, he halted immediately and pivoted back, eyes staring straight at them with a solemn expression.

"I don't know what's happening or who's attacking. But if anyone comes..." He drifted off, shifting his eyes around with obvious discomfort and uncertainty. Again, it was a sentence everyone in the room knew the ending to and with none of them wanting to think about.

"Just... Just don't die before we get back." He ended abruptly, as he finally turned and dashed out the door and down the path the other took not just a few moments ago.

Neither of them had time to react, because everything had happened in an instant. So after a full minute they found their feet unmoved from where they were set when their brothers first left - rooted to the ground and still trying to adjust to the fast flow of events. Kuroko blinked as he continued staring blankly outside the opened door. The screaming outside hadn't died down, and they could still hear the terrified wails of people running past them.

Everything was in chaos.

He could smell the distinct traveling scent of burning wood from where they were, even though they had been nowhere near any fires. Women were screaming hysterically, tripping over themselves as they fled for their lives with bawling infants in their arms. There were people dashing and shoving past each other, neither giving a second thought of whether the person they pushed down were injured, nor whether the child they saw weeping at the side of the street were lost and needed any help. Looking at the passing scene, Kuroko realized that at times like this, humanity was truly fragile. It was like an iceberg. And the sun that hung overhead - slowly but surely, melting the bonds of humanity into a different, weaker state - was whoever, or whatever caused the massive explosions.

His heart ached. Whatever was going on, he knew it was anything but good. There was a passing thought in his mind that the people who were doing this were nothing but sick, because they just destroyed hard-attained peace everyone had just found after a period of long unrest. Even if it were to be a false alarm, things would never go back to the way they were again. The people he saw right now were beyond terrified, and if the government expects them to return to their daily lives after this, it would be an impossibly hard challenge, as this was a grim reminder to the people of how easily the security and peace they've spent most of their lives building can fall apart with a simple tug. The worst thing was, that was probably the goal of the ones who set these explosions up.

Kuroko considered a bunch of possibilities; one being the start of a world war. There had been palpable tension going on between many countries for years now, and it wouldn't be that far-fetched if a war were to break out. Though he had a distinct feeling that that wasn't it.

"Hyuuga-san," Kuroko said softly, as he broke the trance both of them were stuck in and turned his head. "Should we-"

"No." He cut him off. "It's better if we wait."

Kuroko opened his mouth to protest but closed it a second later. He was probably right. As large as the urge was to aid in finding his sisters, they wouldn't be able to do anything out there in the complete chaos. And as much as they both hated waiting around, they knew the chances of them being separated were higher than actually finding Riko and Momoi, and separation as of right now, wasn't their best option. They had to leave it to their two brothers.

"Kuroko, I think we should leave." Hyuuga reached his arm out to grab onto his shoulder. "I don't know who or where... where they are attacking from, but it doesn't sound far. We can't stay here. We have to leave."

"But Kagami said-"

"I know what he said!" Hyuuga raised his voice as his grip on his shoulder tightened. "But right now he's not here, and it's my goddamned duty as your brother to keep you safe. And as of this moment, this place isn't it." Kuroko hesitated as he met his firm eyes. Hyuuga was worried and frantic, he could tell. His older brother wanted to keep him safe and he understood that, but at what cost?

"We can definitely regroup with Kagami and Aomine later. We will find them, Kuroko. I'll get you out of here safely and find others who've-" Hyuuga began but was cut short when a loud crash resonated into their chipped wooden home, followed by a high pitched shriek which tore through the other screams, making them freeze as they instantly spun their heads around to the opened door. He had a sickening thought.

Were they right outside?

But hadn't the man earlier mentioned that the attack had been situated in the market? That was but less than a few minutes ago. The market was a mile away from their home and for someone to travel such a long distance within a matter of minutes was next to impossible.

The brothers exchanged worried glances as they took a few steps back, placing themselves at a safe distance from the agape door, and ducked behind the nearest pillar that offered little to no cover. Then for a while, all they heard was silence, before the trembling voice of a person. "Wait - please - I - I'm sorry. Please don't -" The voice choked out in-between snots.

"Tsk tsk. I told you, told you not to run. A wise man once said, obedience is the key to success, silly human." Another voice remarked, as the owner of it laughed sadistically. "This is all. Your. Fault."

"That's enough, Takao."

One more voice entered the conversation, as the weeping died down, turning into stifled snobs. Other than the consistent distant screaming, Kuroko realized that outside had surprising turned silent now, with no signs or sound of any of the earlier chaotic clutter of meshing bodies. Wait, back the hell up. Weren't there tons of people running about just a fraction of a second ago? Unless there had been a massive wormhole that sucked away all living humans around that area - and that couldn't have been possible as they were still very much here and dammit, trapped - he hadn't had the next slightest clue. His eyes flickered around the open area outside. Where the hell had all of them gone?

"Aw, stop bursting my bubble Shin-chan."

"You can't burst something that's not there. But that's not the point. Your old habit is showing, Takao. Don't forget what we came here for."

Kuroko felt his insides freezing as the stranger finished his sentence with an exasperated sigh. The voice sounded eerily familiar. Kuroko was never one to forget a voice. Still, no matter what his instincts told him otherwise, he refused to believe so. Because it just couldn't be.

But he had to make sure. With that thought and just like that, his legs took a determined step forward, as they went against and ignored the silent protests of Hyuuga behind him who tried to grab his arm, and snuck across the room. He crept silently, as he placed his back to the wall adjacent to the door that had been the only thing standing between him and the ongoing scene outside.

After the passing of a few seconds, he felt the presence of someone beside him, and instinctively spun around to find himself face to face with an annoyed Hyuuga. But the older male said nothing and instead, jerked his head, gesturing for his Kuroko to peek outside. A human's curiously was difficult to tame, after all. He wanted to know what was going on as much as Kuroko did.

Kuroko nodded, turning his head sideways as he attempted a glance out the door. The fact that there were three people outside was already a given. Two of them were facing his general direction; one of which sprawled out on the ground and the other, towering over with an awkward expression plastered all over his face. The last person out of the three had his back to Kuroko, but his structure and build was unmistakable, not to mention the bright hue his hair was colored in that struck a brutal chord in both his eyes and memories.

That was him. As much as he hadn't wanted it to be, the man standing in front of him was definitely there nine years ago.

Kuroko hadn't been blessed with accurate memories from birth, but that night had been one that not even his terrible excuse of a memory could manage to shove out. It had haunted him for nine straight years, and even though they had gotten fuzzier each time he replayed the scenes, he couldn't shake off the myriad of emotions that had glued themselves to the incident. Seeing one of them here was like plucking the vivid memory out of him and slapping it onto his face with so much unhindered force that made him wonder if he had actually been seeing things.

But why was he here? And if he was here, did that mean the blonde guy was too? He glanced sideways at Hyuuga, who was intensely pressing his face to the wooden wall, peeking out from the holes within that had exposed their house far too many times.

He hadn't exactly held the highest of expectations for the reactions his siblings might give when they realized that the man from - you'd not imagine the countless times he was forced to repeat the same tale because they wouldn't believe him when he told them the truth of what had happened the first twenty times - the story was nearby. After all, seeing their little Kuroko drenched in blood wasn't exactly the best way to introduce someone that he's just met.

Still, he had to find out, for sure, if the blonde man - Yeah, okay. It was embarrassing enough his lovely memory had decided to exclude his name out of the trillion possible details from that particular night - was really here. He had to see if the man that had haunted his nightmares for the longest time was at the very least, okay. He wanted, no, needed that closure. His eyes resumed scrutinizing the area outside, looking for a blonde headed male. Judging from the timeline, Kuroko expected him to be in his late twenties or early thirties by now. But he was interrupted from his quest almost immediately and jolted back to reality.

"Really? Ah... Crap. Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, idiot."

There was a pause, as Kuroko turned his attention back to the trio, frowning as his eyes settled on the green haired man for reasons he wasn't quite sure of yet.

"Why- Oh! Shit, sorry man! C'mon, I'll help you up." The other guy, Takao from what it seems, exclaimed, his entire demeanor changing so fast, from the unpredictability he emitted earlier to open friendliness that it left the man on the floor peering wide-eyed at him, hopelessly startled. Well, no one could blame him. The man who tried to kill him not just a few seconds ago was now offering him a hand.

"Well, come on!" Takao shook his extended arm, smiling widely as he gestured for the civilian to accept it. "No one's going to hurt you."

If anyone had wondered whether the words coming out of his mouth had been filtered beforehand, that just slapped a huge neon sign of "Ha, no" on his forehead.  
Kuroko deepened his frown, as he realized the aura and impression the guy gave out was strange. Not technically in a bad way, but still strange, in a way. He had jet black hair that was parted down the middle, leaving stray strands dangling over his forehead and slightly past his eyebrows. With closer inspection, he owned a chiseled face that enhanced his otherwise already dominant features and dark tired eyes that looked like they reflected all the horrors in the world, but yet managing to preserve the childlike innocence in them all the same.

"There! Wasn't that easy?" He chirped, as the trembling man acquiesced, extending a shaky arm and grabbing onto his opened palm and got back up on both feet. "Tell you what," the eccentric guy added, after noticing the lack of healthy color in the face of the other party, "I'll take you to Town Square. Everyone else is already gathered there." And with that, the man's shoulders instinctively dropped, visibly relaxing - but the change had only been slight, as the wary look in his eyes remained.

He followed, as the dark haired man led the path down the street, all the while keeping a safe distance. But somehow Kuroko knew that the minute distance placed between them wasn't anywhere capable of saving the man if the other party were to return...to his old habits again. The dangerous aura he emitted a while ago was more or less dissipated, and all that was left after a minute was the disappearing back of two figures down the road.

Now all that remained in the scene were the two inside the house, and the silent green haired man standing a few meters away from them.

Kuroko squinted, shifting as he tried to get a better look at the man's features. But he must've made a sound as he shuffled forward, because just as he did so, the other man who a second ago had his back to them, froze momentarily before spinning around, turning to look straight at their direction.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kuroko's eyes widened, as he jumped back behind the cover of the wall. Hyuuga received the hint instantly, as he quickly tugged the boy's arm and pulled him behind two stacked crates which had stored their rice supply at the corner of the room, before too, crouching down and placing himself defensively in front of Kuroko.  
Shit. He'd messed up and pushed his luck too far. His previous position was compromising enough as it was, stepping out further was a move destined to go wrong from the start and he should've known better. Kuroko held on to Hyuuga's forearm in front of him as the older male gestured with the other arm for him to stay silent.  
They held their breath and waited. A few seconds passed with complete silence draping the atmosphere. But just as they thought they were safe, footsteps started drifting closer to their house. He felt a few beaded sweat drops slip past his forehead, as they collected on his chin, dangling with the same anticipation he was under. This situation felt all too familiar, and he held no doubt where he experienced it before. It was surreal, almost like he was reliving that incident.

"I know you're in there." They froze as a deep voice echoed throughout the house, hanging in the air before fading like the dwindling of ominous thunder. It sent waves of shivers down his back, and his heart skipped a beat with sudden trepidation. He could feel Hyuuga tense up beside him, as his posture stiffened.

"Come out, before I come to you."

And if they hadn't been terrified enough as it was, that sentence had probably sealed the deal and ripped out whatever calmness they had left, trampling it on the ground and leaving them to be like broken peanuts.

But what choice did they have left? It was fight or flight and right now, the latter wasn't a feasible option, considering their only exit was currently being blocked by an unknown man. But before Kuroko could move a muscle, Hyuuga reached out his hand and grabbed a broken leg from a table that had somehow landed on the floor of the other side of the room after the explosions, and stuffed it into the back of his pants. Kuroko's eyes widened for the thousandth time that day alone - and he was pretty sure by now he must've burst a vessel or two with all the excessive eye popping - when Hyuuga stepped out. He reached out his hand and tried to grab Hyuuga to pull him back, but he was a second too late as Hyuuga had already caught the attention of the other man.

"There you are."

Hyuuga said nothing in response as he started approaching the man. What the hell was he doing? Did he have a death wish? Because walking up to someone who quite possibly might have the intention to kill you wasn't exactly the best way to protect your life.

But just as he was about to reach the man, Hyuuga whipped out the long wooden rod he had hid behind his back and charged forward, swinging the rod with a terrifying force that it dealt a heavy blow to the opponent's head. It all happened so quickly that the other man didn't have any time to react, and ended up tumbling on his rear, hand rushing up to grab onto the side of his head where he had been hit. His eyes were wide in shock, as if not believing that he had been put down on the ground so easily.

Kuroko stared at Hyuuga in astonishment, then at the fallen man and back at Hyuuga. From his position behind the crates, he could tell that Hyuuga was scared. The older brother was holding tightly onto the rod, as if it was it supporting him and not the other way round, as he stared down at the frozen man beneath his feet, large heavy pants escaping his lips. There was a slight tremble in his forearms, but other than that, his posture appeared sturdy and confident as ever. It could've fooled him.

Silence then draped the atmosphere again for a long minute, but to them, it felt like hours, before the man on the ground started showing signs of human response and moved to get up. But just as he did so, a loud voice from outside rattled their guts.

"SHIN-CHAN! What the fuck are you doing?" It was the man - if his memory didn't fail him, Takao - from earlier. He was stood all the way at the other side of the street, staring at Hyuuga through the opened doors with heated vehemence and anger.

Then all at once, he wasn't there anymore.

Instead, there was a slight flush of frigid wind and before they knew it, Takao was standing in front of Hyuuga, punching him square in the jaw. Kuroko gasped in horror as he flew four feet back into the house, his back landing on the broken glass pieces with a heavy thud and groan.

He slapped his palm over his mouth in terror, as he turned his attention back to the other two men. What had just happened? Even though he had witnessed it, it still managed to sound ridiculous as he thought about it, because the man had just crossed over fifteen meters in half a second, and literally sent Hyuuga flying after a punch. He had a hunch that something out of the ordinary was going on, and he didn't like it at all. There were too many things he didn't have an answer to; half of them came from today itself and the other half probably belonging to that night.

But as he looked over to Hyuuga's fallen twitching posture, and to the bleeding and probably broken nose he had, Kuroko felt an unfamiliar ball of anger surface up within his systems, diminishing the remaining bit of composure he had left at lightning speed. No matter what was going on, he knew one thing would always be for certain. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt his family either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.  
>  Short A/N to address :  
> Hello! Sorry for the suspense, if you guys are anxious for the long waited entrance of Akashi, fret not! If everything goes as planned, he should coming in very, very soon.  
> You might have noticed the slight OOC of Takao! I felt it was appropriate for the story bc as much as I didn't want to hurt my precious cinnamon roll, this would probably contribute to the angst that's following. :^}
> 
> Once again, thanks for supporting the story, you guys are lovely!  
> Don't be afraid to leave a review, they're all welcomed!


	7. 7

Chapter 6

Takao got down on a knee almost instantly after throwing the punch, as he carefully reached out both his hands and held on to the sides of Midorima's face, tilting it slightly as he tried to inspect the damages inflicted. As much as he wanted to pulverize the person who dared lay a finger on him, right now his health and safety was his main prioritization.

"Shin-chan, are you okay? Does it-" He paused, as his eyes widened when he noticed the trail of blood running down his face from his wound. "Oh my god, you're bleeding. How- But it couldn't have- Just, don't worry, I don't think it's anything serious. It'll heal. Does it hurt? It does, doesn't it? Could you bear the pain? Do you want me to get some medication? I can run down to the stall and-" He droned on with his hand lightly grazing over the wound, causing Midorima to flinch away. Takao was trying his best to reassure him, no doubt, but it appeared more so to the green haired man that he was actually comforting himself.

"Takao, shut up. I'm fine." Midorima said, as he pried his friend's fingers off and shoved Takao's face, which had been too near for comfort, away. "Get off me. Of course it hurts, you idiot. It's made of wood. You're giving me a worse headache."

"Right, right. Okay, sorry. There's no one else here but the nearest medical station should be nearby. C'mon I'll help you up-" He stood back up on both feet and extended an arm for him to grab, but just as he did so, there was a heavy strike at the back of his head which made him stop short. Normally, the force itself would've been more than capable to take a human out. But Takao just felt an annoying sting.

He froze, peering down at the broken half of a wooden rod that was now tumbling across the ground. He clucked his tongue as he dropped his extended arm. Had the man from earlier gotten back on his feet already? The punch he dealt wasn't exactly light, and it was a miracle he still had the strength to manage a hit like that, after only a few minutes. Takao turned around slowly, popping his knuckles, readying himself for another punch that he would make sure would be enough to knock the guy out for good. But as he laid eyes on the culprit, he found bemusement arising instead.

His eyebrows turned up at the sight of a blue haired boy holding tightly to the other half of the broken wooden rod in his hands. The man- no, boy, standing in front of him was definitely not who he expected to see.

He was looking at the broken weapon in his hands with utter shock, then at Takao and to the floor where the other half laid and back again at the rod, like he couldn't believe what just happened. He was slightly to the scrawny side, but the hit he delivered wasn't falling in comparison to one a stronger man would give.

Takao stared at him incredulously. Did he really think he could pull off a trick like that, again? Did he really think it would work once more and much less, be able to hurt him? He knew his other partner hadn't had much training in the battle field as he did in the medical one; in fact, this was probably Midorima's first time out. It was only natural for Takao to assume that the green haired man was more susceptible to injuries than he was - because unlike Midorima, he had years of practice.

But what had stirred him up more was the fact that he hadn't been able to sense his presence earlier. When had the kid got here? Was it when he wasn't paying attention? No, it couldn't have been. He would have still been able to sense him approaching, no matter how good his stealth game was. Then was he here the whole time? But if so, why hadn't he been able to detect the boy? There were many questions clouding his mind, but he found answers to none. He turned his eyes to the other man lying on the ground behind the boy, who was now rubbing his face and attempting to get up on the pile of broken glass.

Despite his confusion - probably due to the fact that Takao hadn't gotten injured at the impact – the blue haired boy managed to utter a few words. "Stay away from him."

Takao had then still been too startled by his overall presence in general that he failed to fully notice him charging forward again with a potentially dangerous weapon that was, fortunately for him, held in the wrong way to possibly be of any harm. He extended his hand just in the nick of time and slammed his forearm into the boy's face. The audible cracking sound of bones could be heard as the heavy impact sent him flying towards the side, colliding into the wall where he slumped down on the ground, defeated.

"SHIT! Kuroko!" The other man bellowed, his frantic voice echoing throughout the house. Takao froze as he whipped his head around to him. He was hurriedly rushing off the ground now, running straight for the fallen figure of the boy across the room.

Takao spun around to look at Midorima - who up till now had remained relatively silent in his position on the floor - as the latter man's eyes widened in shock as well.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Midorima pushed himself off the floor, dusting his sleeves as he walked up to his comrade, who was facing two injured people opposite of him. "Sorry, um, hey - four eyes." Takao spoke up, directing his attention back to the man kneeling beside the young boy, who paid his words little to no heed.

"Hey - dammit. Tetsuya, can you hear me?" He said, shaking the unconscious boy roughly by his shoulders, which only managed to get more violent as the boy's nose started to bleed.

"Hey, over here! Sorry to interrupt, but could you spare us a second? "

Again, there was no response. Instead, the man leaned forward to check for a pulse on the boy's neck, sighing in relief once he found one.

"Pal, pause for a minute. We need to ask you somet-"

"Shut the hell up." The man replied harshly, finally acknowledging their presence without looking, earning a surprised look from Takao as he sat the boy up straighter.

"Woah hey, it's important. We just want to ask you something." He raised his arms defensively.

"I don't think you've earned any rights to. You've done enough damage here. Get out."

Takao frowned at the accusatory statement, opening his mouth to retort, but Midorima beat him to it. "What's his name?"

The man looked up and stared at him like he'd grown two heads. "What?"

"What's his name?" He repeated, features growing slightly annoyed and impatient as he crossed his arms.

"Why do you care?" After this, he instinctively acquired a defensive posture as he placed an arm in front of the younger male. It was obvious, the strength contrasts of both parties were too drastic, and the man before them looked intelligent enough to have realized that by now. He wasn't any match for the two men in front of him, much less in the damaged state he was in. But apparently, that hadn't been a good enough reason for him to be afraid and back down.

Midorima looked at his skeptical and wary expression and sighed. He was all too clear that their current method of squeezing out an answer from him was going to prove futile. They were running on limited time and this wasn't anywhere near helping to conserve it. Hence, pushing up his glasses, he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a revolver, wrapping his fingers around it firmly as he stretched out his hand to aim it at the man in front, who instantly jerked back in shock.

"Shi- What are y-"

"Stop wasting our time. If I'm not mistaken – and I'm not – it's a simple question." He flicked the gun towards the boy. "His name. But judging from the circumstances, you'll probably not mind even if I were to kill you so," Midorima considered and paused for a second, before shifting the direction of the barrel slightly so it was aimed at the blue haired boy instead. "I'll kill him."

As predicted, the man's eyes widened as he quickly moved to place himself in between the gun and the boy, but again, Midorima beat him to it. "Don't even try. You really think your body is a strong enough shield against a bullet? I'll kill both of you." He gestured with his gun. Of course, both Takao and he knew that it was merely a fib to pry an answer out of the man. He wasn't about to kill the boy, not really. It was unreasonable, and his death might put their months of efforts into waste if he was really who they thought he was.

"So let's cut right into the chase. I'm only going to ask once more." He paused dramatically as he waited for a reply. The man in front of them breathed heavily, as he looked between him and the gun his hand was wrapped around. There was a short pause as he appeared to be weighing his options, before resignedly, he sighed. The evident caution in his eyes remained, as he opened his mouth to speak. "Kuroko."

Midorima released a hopeful breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, as he slowly lowered his gun and turned to look at Takao, who nodded in acknowledgement. They did hear right after all. If this boy was truly who they prayed he was, it would not only save a lot of hassle, but quite likely the sanity of the entire castle.

"Hey, you're probably not going to like this but, we're going to need to borrow him for a while." Takao added, stepping forward beside Midorima.

"What? Like hell you are."

There had already been a bunch of sighs exchanged by then and Takao did well to add to the number, already expecting that reaction from the man. Of course he wouldn't be willing to give the boy up after all the fight he's just put up to keep him safe. Midorima jerked his head toward the man, gesturing for Takao to solve the situation as this is getting annoying and I'm getting annoyed, which he immediately complied, moving forward and raising a quick hand that collided with the back of the man's neck, knocking him out before he even had the chance to retaliate.

They looked at the now two unconscious and beaten bodies lying by their feet, before at each other. They had to settle this once and for all. It had dragged on for too long and this was likely their last opportunity to. "Takao-"

"Yeah, I got it. Don't worry; I'll take care of things here. Go, they're probably biting their asses off waiting."

Midorima nodded without question, but only because he knew he could count on his partner. The years they spent together wasn't all for naught. He bent forward, lifting the other man away to the side as he crouched down, carefully picking Kuroko up bridal style - as the last thing he wanted was to cause any more harm to his already damaged body – before standing up and heading out the door.

He walked briskly down the gravel road in search of the nearest carriage which he decided, was the fastest mode of transport that would take them back to the castle. Running wasn't an option because of various reasons, one in particular being the likelihood that he may end up injuring the unconscious boy further with the vigorous movements of his body muscles. He glided swiftly across the stone path as he spotted a carriage belonging to his troupe not a few streets down, and yelled for it to halt.

As he got into the small space in the carriage, he placed the boy down with his head on his lap and knocked the top of the carriage using his fist, signaling for the carriage-man to go. Looking down at the sleeping boy, he let a glimmer of hope rise in his chest, despite the countless numerous times it had left him disappointed. He might be the final piece they needed to perfect their plan.

The entirety of their Clan had been in a relentless pursuit for "Kuroko" for almost a year, and they've long lost count of how many wrong ones they've found. A description of "blue-haired, wide eyed boy" and a name was given, with nothing else, to look for a kid in the endless ocean of humans around the globe. It wasn't going to be anywhere near an easy task, of course; it was like fishing for a needle in the entire goddamned sea. But still, no matter how bleak the chances were, Midorima felt he had to try, if not for the sake of the entire family, at least for Kise.

They went back and forth to the place Kise had specified to search, but the blue haired kid was nowhere to be found. It wasn't easy walking about town surrounded by a huge clique, or blending in with red hoods hung over all their heads, and much less strutting about and sticking their heads in the same houses more than a couple of times within a month. One would've thought they belonged to a satanic cult, which wasn't exactly far from the truth.

Naturally, after many, many failed attempts, they came to the conclusion that the boy had either moved, or lost the battle with his circumstances, which from the stories Kise kept repeating, was nothing short of harsh. Though the latter was more possible than not, his blonde friend had refused to believe it and insisted on continuing the search.

The Clan council was frustrated, of course, after seeing how things were playing out. They were being pulled around like puppets on a string by a considerably dimmer man, and they couldn't do crap about it.

The futile search for an ordinary boy was taking up manpower and time, and those weren't something they were willing to just hand over. But they hadn't had a choice to begin with. The strategy had ultimately come to wrap itself to depend largely on the Kise for its success. They couldn't do without his cooperation – something he refused to give without them accepting his terms.

They had been planning the grueling invasion for nearly nine years and everything up to a little more than a year ago, where they had finalized their strategy, had been planned out so impeccably, they didn't think it had any possible room for errors. Every nook and cranny of the plan was looked into, and any slightest crack found was eventually glued back into place with careful discussion and planning. Everything was beyond perfect, and their strategy ensured that the Town would fall under their control in less than a few days.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Of course, they had failed to take into consideration of the errors the leaders might make themselves. He had been perfect in every action and course he took; hence no one even remotely considered the possibility of Kise rebelling at the very end.

Because in the summer of the previous year, Kise had finally cracked. In the middle of a presentation in front of the Council, he quite literally threw all the papers in his hands and stood up on the table, declaring that he would be resigning from his position as the army head. He had gathered almost every single one of the men in the Royal Head Army, pulling many out of their misery and giving them a purpose to live and fight for. They were loyal to the bone and thus, it was the sole position that the Council had little to no control over. It gave Kise a free pass and the ability to tear their plan into shreds.

Naturally, after his declaration, glasses were dropped and eyes were popped. But they couldn't exactly say prying a reason out of him was tough. After all, he was doing it all for the purpose of exchanging terms. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't an idiot. Kise knew how to get what he wanted and he had proven that he could tap on that knowledge. He was determined, and it was one of those rare decisions he made where not even Akashi could manage to talk him out of.

They were holding down Castle Amara as base - an abandoned castle where the ancient kings once resided in, but now, it was used as a storage house for the government. It was deserted, located at the top end of a large cliff, sealed off by oceans and an endless maze of thick forest. It was almost impregnable and not to mention quite humongous – it made the perfect place to set up the headquarters of a vampire clan.

Amara was located near the town the boy had lived in. When Kise found out, he went paler by the face. He had no intention of putting the kid in the path of any danger, much less sending an entire destructive vampire army down his street to round everyone up. Hence, under the duress and threat of disbanding the Head Army, the Council held a meeting (for formalities' sake, because power hungry bastards liked to upkeep an image) and a day after, Kise brought two hundred men out and they've been on the search ever since.

Midorima sighed heavily as he reached into his coat to pull out a pocket watch. The planned time for the Kise's army to head out was nearing. The council had his temporal cooperation as of the moment, but Midorima knew all too well that there was no way his cousin was going lead an army to fight a battle without ensuring the safety of someone he obviously cared too much about.

He tapped his foot impatiently as he looked at the passing scenery out the small window. There was no time to lose. The government called for backup, and it was already on its way. Their plan was destined to fail without Kise's inanely devoted army.

Midorima cared for him, no doubt, and wanted to find whatever happiness he could give Kise and throw it in his face. But he had to prioritize the plan. It was the only shot they had at escaping the vicious cycle of the slumps they were stuck in, and the disrespect they had been treated with for centuries because they weren't pumped with mortal blood.

Vampires were superior by nature, not humans, which the latter liked to claim. No matter how they liked to twist folklore, their species had been nothing but docile and kind for as long as they remembered. Dracula wasn't even a vampire; he was very much in fact, a human who ended more lives than their entire species had all together in their existence. The real monsters were the humans. They had pushed them too far over the edge, and sooner or later someone had to step up to protect them before they were all gone. Why they put up with so much humiliation for such a long time remained a constant irk on their minds they couldn't scratch away.

Despite the stories parents feed to their children, vampires had never wanted anything more than to live in cohesion with the rest of the world and its occupants, if nothing else, it was at least their basic right. Most of them could feed off livestock and live just fine. But the rare few whose taste strayed from the rest proved to be the ultimate cause for a long period of their distress, as they had forever implanted the impression on the minds of mortals that vampires were nothing more than mindless killing machines that mercilessly fed off the lives of humans.

Midorima didn't like that. He stood with the vampires and would do anything humanly, or well, vampire-ly, possible to reclaim the glory they deserved. Far too long had they been kicked into the darkness, forgotten about and hated, just on the basis of false rumors and tales that were never actually supported by concrete evidence. The time to take back what was theirs was now, and it was clear no one was going to back down this time round. He didn't hate humans, but he wasn't about to stand by and watch as an entire species get wiped out because of who they were. Contradictory, he knew. But what other choice was there?

The plan had mentioned that the innocent was to be spared. But then again, what was the definition of innocent? If it meant anyone who took the sides of vampires and never taking a part in the spread of rumors, every single human on this pitiful planet would be deemed guilty. It was the ultimate loophole that erased all future controversies, doubts and guilt of the massive manslaughter that he knew was eventually going to happen. But he kept quiet.

It was all too complicated, and it hurt his head to think about. There were too many moral dilemmas involved, and much more unanswered questions and promises. Midorima wasn't too fond of the strategy, but he trusted and was more than willing to stick by Akashi, who might as well had masterminded the entire plot - and lord knows Akashi's plans never fails.

He clucked his tongue in annoyance and impatience. There was at least a mile before they reached Amara. He turned his attention to his lap, where their last hope remained deathly still.

It didn't matter anymore. It was too late for any regrets. This boy could be their last shot at reviving their plan. So whatever happened today, failure or success, it was going to be all on him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The minute hand ticked almost mockingly, as Midorima closed his pocket watch and rushed to get out of the carriage with the injured boy in his arms. They had reached Amara, after a long, dreadful fifteen minutes. He paused, considering the circumstances, before turning back around and with one foot already out on the ground, he placed the boy back on the seat, taking the red cloak off his back before covering him with it. It was just for caution. He was still a human, and you'd never know when a vampire would go rouge. The last thing he needed was for Kise to walk in on one sucking the life out of his precious Kuroko.

Midorima lifted the blue haired boy up again onto his steady arms, and took care to watch his step as he rushed past the large foyer, through the busy hall and up the spiral staircase, all the while pushing past maidens with unnecessary large handkerchiefs and soldiers who bowed lower than ninety degrees.

Kise was probably in the drawing area, where he predicted, would still be moping about in self-pity and refusing to compromise to anything.

He gripped the boy tighter, as he reached the final step of the stairs and started a brisk walk down the hallway towards the large door at the end. The kid's left arm hung loosely by his side, swaying with each movement, and Midorima would've taken the effort to place them on his chest - if only he had the time. Though his face wasn't the best possible sight he could've offered to Kise – considering Takao had broken his nose, that was expelling out blood like a goddamned spring fountain, and probably several other bones within his body -, he knew it wasn't important. The boy was still alive and that was all that mattered. He hoped.

He silently thanked his stars as he finally reached the door in the long hallway. With a slight pant, he freed an arm and flung the heavy wooden door open.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Midorima slammed his palm on the wooden door, forcefully pushing it wide open as he made his grand entrance. Just as predicted, Kise was sat on the velvet cushioned chair, with his head buried behind his hands. There was a servant standing beside him, and on the opposite chair sat an anxious War Minister. A cup of coffee was situated, untouched, in front of Kise, with a pile of unkempt papers covering a large section of the table surface.

His hair was disheveled, stray strands sticking out in ten directions like they'd been run through many times in frustration, which was probably the case. He had on a long white cotton shirt with a brown vest over the length of his torso, the arm guards had been kicked aside to the corner and his signature blue frock coat was hung over the back of the chair, forgotten. The clothes were probably the only portion on him that was possible to keep presentable - impeccably ironed out with the absence of any creases. The servants could only do so much to keep their prince looking decent when he stuck with rebellion. It looked out of place on him, and if he dared say, possibly even a little strange. The stark contrast between his ghastly physical appearance and his immaculate attire was hard to miss.

Kise's face was hidden behind the mess of yellow hair falling over. He was nervous. An internal sigh surfaced within Midorima, as his gaze travelled to the unsigned pieces of documents settled beside the tepid drink. The strategy was going to remain stagnant, and it couldn't move forward if that miserable piece of paper didn't have his signature on it.

He opened his mouth as he entered the large quarters, preparing to address his presence, but Kise beat him to it, his blonde head shooting up so quickly that the intangible action was able to cut his words off before they had a chance to leave his mouth.

Midorima met his dead eyes, as his hands left his face and settled on his lap. He looked like he was at a complete loss. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it pained him to see Kise like that. He wasn't usually like this - in fact, almost never. His eyes used to pour out all the joys of the world and his mannerisms reflected the definition of a man carrying no worries at all. It had been like that for almost eight years until a little bit of everything had happened, and since a year ago, he hadn't been the same. Even though most knew his sullen change was likely temporal, it still dampened the overall mood of the entire Clan because the blonde haired man had been such a large source of their joy for a bloody good long time that the sudden loss of that source had draped a cold blanket over many of them. After all, who could be happy when their kind and favored prince wasn't?

Midorima looked at the present Kise and for a moment, he felt awful for him, and if not, possibly even a little concerned. It was disturbing how much of a drastic change he had undergone for the worry of a boy that was more or less a stranger to him. No one in their clan had seen him react to something for someone so violently before. Everyone had grown accustomed to his carefree attitude towards life, unconcerned and optimistic about issues that everybody would be tearing their hair out thinking about. It was ridiculous, his 180 degree turn in behavior. It wasn't all that far-fetched to say his concern was to the point of almost unnatural obsession.

The boy was his savior, he claimed. He couldn't lose the light.

Not going to lie, but Midorima had cringed the first time he heard his cousin say that. Still, despite the countless times Kise had (subsequently) repeated the sentence - that was supposedly to serve as explanation for his odd behavior - , little to none understood what he meant. Was it a metaphor? Could it be a code? A prophecy, perhaps?

But no matter the topic of debate, there was one thing everyone could agree on, and it was that they wanted their jovial prince back. They wanted to see him smile again, just like he used to everyday. They wanted to bring the same joy back into his life, just like he did to theirs. And because of that, it wasn't all that hard to persuade people to join the search.

"Kise, I think I've -"

Midorima began, but he was cut off when the former man jolted straight up out of his seat. At first, he was taken aback by Kise's sudden outburst of movement, but as soon as he followed his line of sight, it wasn't much of a surprise anymore. The blonde was staring wide eyed at the covered figure in his arms, looking more alive than he's seen him in a while. His heart quickened. Please, for the love of what little remaining hair on their people that haven't been torn out yet, let this boy be who he was looking for.

Kise walked forward slowly, but it soon picked up pace as he reached in front of him. He paused, as he opened his mouth to speak, and then clamping it shut right after, as if considering his next words, with eyes that reflected innocent hope. He stretched out his arm, pointing at the covered figure; "Midorima, did you - is-" He began tentatively, eyes never leaving their focus.

Midorima shook his head slowly as his mouth went dry, "I don't know."

He swallowed. "Can I..." His voice was soft, filled with uncertainty yet the few words he uttered managed to carry so much hope, that for once, Midorima's heart ached. Despite the countless times he was met with disappointment, Kise had never lost a single shred of hope and it was almost heartwarming to witness his determination.

After a heavy, long pause, he extended a firm arm, taking in a deep calming breath before tugging the red velvet fabric away from the boy's face. There was palpable tension in the room and it felt like everyone and everything had stood completely still for a moment as they waited for a solid reaction from Kise. The Minister was staring intently at his expression, with a single beaded sweat rolling past his forehead, waiting to catch any flicker of emotion that would escape and the servant stood where she was, at a respectful distance, with anticipation written all over her features as she peered over. The atmosphere was loaded with hope, but all for different reasons.

At first there was silence. Kise's visage remained neutral as he took in the appearance of the uncovered boy. Midorima felt his shoulders beginning to stiffen as irritation started to rise. He had probably found the wrong person again. This was the end. Their plan was rolling downhill to its grave and the only brakes it had was lost.

But then all at once, Kise emitted a strange strangled sound from his throat, his free hand clapping over his mouth and he clutched tighter onto the fabric as they began to develop a slight shake. Midorima blinked in astonishment. Certainly, that hadn't been the reaction he was expecting. Surely he couldn't have been that disheartened to the point of a seizure?

But before he could say anything, Kise's eyes shot up from where they were fixated on the boy in his arms, and looked straight into his green ones. Midorima had to take a moment and his breath stopped in their flow, as he realized that the emotions flooding within the eyes of the blonde man weren't ones that could be categorized under deject. It was joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Oh my god, this was a full blown descriptive chapter, wasn't it? I wanted to include in more action but I felt I had to explain the concept of the "plan" and some early occurrences first, or the story wouldn't flow too well later!  
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> Remember to leave a review if you like the story so far! Don't be afraid to leave (constructive) criticisms and opinions!
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> Thank you if you've made it this far and for reading my story.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

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There was a light. It was faint in the distance, and obscured by darkness all around, but it caught his attention. Kuroko reached out his arm, wanting to touch it, but then his arms, they were stuck in a sticky, gooey black mess and he couldn't pull them out of its grip. He tried moving his legs, but they were encased in the same disturbing mixture, as well as his entire body.

And then all of a sudden, it got hot.

It got very hot, and he felt like his entire body was on fire and strangely enough when he looked down again, he was. The darkness that had once shrouded around him started to turn bright orange, and suddenly he could see nothing but luminous flames that picked at his skin. He panicked, and started patting wildly against his own arms to chase off the fire but it did nothing but raise his anxiety as the flames only grew in intensity, spreading up to his neck like squirrels running hysterically up a tree. He could feel his skin melting and peeling away from his muscles, and he couldn't do anything about the sharp jolt of pain that shot up his spine, nesting itself comfortable. "Someone... Someone, please! Please… Help! " He cried out, desperately reaching his fingertips out to the diminishing light at the top like it was the only thing he could do. His limbs were hopelessly trapped, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was enveloped by the vicious fires. He was in pain, and he was helpless.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Drip.

Drip.

_Shut up._

Drip.

It was the insistent rhythmic patter that awoke Kuroko, as he was slowly pulled out of his disturbed slumber and back into reality. He lifted his eyelids, squinting at the light that attacked his eyes as a dry cough formed in the back of his throat.

Did Kagami forget to close the windows again? Why was it so hard for him to remember to shut two wooden structures? The crates were going to get wet, and so was their food supply. His brother _knew_ that, but Kagami being an inherent bobble head, he never learnt his lesson.

Kuroko blinked a couple of times, adjusting his eyes to the light as he shifted his neck around. It was getting stiff. He had expected to see Momoi or Riko snuggled up to him, because he could tell it was raining, and whenever it rained, they would curl up next to him, humming soft nursery rhymes as sleep overcame them. He breathed a deep breath. The familiar beat of rain drumming gently on the window as they fell on earth, and the emanated petrichor that came along with it, it was something he always adored about the rain. They say humans inherited their affection for the smell from their ancestors, who relied heavily on rainy weather for survival. But he liked it because it meant cuddling next to his family for warmth.

A smile slipped onto his face, as he felt a warm presence by his side. But as he looked down, his heart skipped a beat and his breath got caught in his throat, taking with it the remaining haziness that had clouded his thoughts when he woke up.

It wasn't Momoi or Riko.

Instead, he found a blonde headed man lying by the side of the bed, sitting on a chair that was surrounded by a very foreign place. He jolted, pushing himself up by his elbows but flinched harshly as it sent a sharp bolt of pain up his arm. He looked down and was surprised to find it in a cast, heavily wrapped by several layers of bandages, and as he twitched his nose, he found it covered in a similar situation. But before he could make any further movements, the figure by his side shot up in his seat, eyes growing wide as they focused on him.

Holy -  Kuroko felt his own eyes widening, as he simultaneously froze in his position. It felt like time itself was halted, as his golden eyes met his own shocked ones. The tingling pain in his arm suddenly wasn't there anymore, and all he could do, or think about, was to stare ahead of him, stupefied beyond expression.

Because this guy, he's -

The man in front of him reached out his arms, but paused midway, unsure of his own actions. He opened his mouth to speak, but was similarly, unable to complete the action as he closed it shut right after. A long silent moment was shared between both parties, as they stared at each other in what felt like the epitome of complete shock.

Then, the blonde male apparently decided enough was enough, and reached forward to embrace the boy in a tight hug. Kuroko jumped up in shock, flinching slightly at the impact inflicted on his arm as he tried to adjust himself and respond to the sudden display of affection.

But he only opened his mouth after a few seconds, "You're –"

"Kuroko. You're Kuroko, right?"

"I-" He felt his mouth going dry, as his heart picked its pace. "Y-yeah, and – Are you –"

"Yeah." The other party breathed out in relief, "Kise."

Kuroko's mind was spinning around in a confused circle as his mouth twitched, threatening to break out in a smile. There were so many questions he wanted, no needed to ask, but he could find the voice for none. He wasn't able to grab firmly on the entire situation at all, but as he looked toward the unfamiliar room, he couldn't stop a burning question from escaping his lips.

"Where am I?" He whispered, breaking the tranquil atmosphere as he looked around the foreign area. He was lying on a large white bed, and around him were several scattered mahogany wooden chairs. The room was a large rectangle, and on the right were two humongous stained glass windows, stretching all the way to the top where it arched downwards, ending slightly above the height of the bed. There were strange medical equipment lying around the room on different tables, and on the left was a wooden door. There was an empty bed across of his own. The room was illuminated by a gloomy, but fresh, light - the ones that only appear after a thunderstorm.

"Hm?"

Kuroko opened his mouth to repeat his question, but then there was the itch at the back of his mind, and he started panicking as it picked at it. He pushed Kise away as he sat himself up straighter, earning a strange look from the man. "Where's - where's my family?" He asked, ignoring the strain he felt on his arms as he positioned himself to get up. Somehow, the sentence hadn't sound right, but he couldn't point out the mistake. But no matter, his family was his priority.

"Woah- hey, hey!" Kise said as he extended both his arms to grab ahold of his forearms. "Don't move yet. The doctor said you need to get rest or your arm won't heal."

What the hell even happened to his arm? "Look, thanks, but I don't care, I need to find my family." He said, getting up again but was pushed back down.

"Well I do. And I'm not letting you out of this bed until you're fully healed."

As he said that, Kuroko felt a surge of annoyance and ire flush through him. He was going to find his family. Maybe it was because of the circumstances or the fact that he was so utterly confused, but for some reason he was mad. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Kise's hands stilled on him, and he blinked a couple of times. "I'm - W-What?"

In retrospect, that had probably been a little rude, considering the fact that Kise had done nothing wrong. But the anxiety was triumphing over the guilt. "My family means a lot to me, and I'm going to find them." The boy breathed heavily as he pushed the man away, regretting only for a split second as he caught a flash of hurt dashing across his eyes, but both had disappeared after a short fraction of a second. He swung his legs down the bed as he stood up, determined, and ignoring the jolt of sharp pain that shot up his limbs.

He took a step and advanced forward, but then as he stood up there was a blinding pain in his head that he couldn't ignore. It hadn't been there before and it was so sudden it made the unwilling sixteen year old lose his footing and before he realized it, he was off his balance and on the fast lane toward the ground.

He gasped and squeezed his eyes shut and braced his face and arm for a heavy impact, but it never came. Instead of colliding with the concrete floor with multiple more injuries added onto his already damaged and bruised body, he fell onto a soft surface which had firmly grabbed onto his forearm and back.

He blinked and his head shot up quickly. He wasn't aware floors had limbs. But then without warning, as he looked up there was a face inches in front of his. Kuroko would've been concerned about the close proximity of their faces, but as he looked at eyes of the man in front, he felt coherency slipping away. It wasn't as if he had any reason to, but his yellow eyes were duller, and it was like he embodied hurt itself, and then there were the tears that were brimming around the edges of his eyes, which made him want to look anywhere else at the moment, yet at the same time, feeling compelled not to break eye contact. Because at that moment, as he stared at the very vulnerable man in front of him, Kuroko felt the anger dissipating out of him, and all that was left behind was shock and possibly even concern.

"Hey - are you cryi-"

"Don't say that."

"Don't - What?" He blinked as he shifted his foot forward, beginning to feel uncomfortable. He felt his warm breath on his face as Kise spoke, and it left a tingling sensation running through his system.

"I know I don't mean anything to you, I don't expect to - I mean how could I? You don't know me at all. And I know I have no rights to interfere, or stop you actually, from finding your family and I'm truly sorry, I didn't know you had any. If I had known, please believe me, I would've done everything I could've to protect them. And - You have all the rights in the world to go looking for them right now, but I -" He paused tentatively, dropping his head low as he broke eye contact. "You're injured, hurt, the doctor said. Over exertion might lead to collapse. So just - just stay in bed for a while, please, at least until you recover." He said almost inaudibly as he tilted his head up again to meet Kuroko's eyes. "Don't go away."

It was almost unfair, really, the way Kise looked at him as he said that, as if it was possible to appear _even_ more like a lost puppy than he already did before. His voice carried a myriad of emotions, but Kuroko felt it was mainly dipped in hope and desperation, which for one thing, he did not manage to understand. Why was he so concerned about him? It didn't make any sense, they had interacted for a very brief period that was a little short of an hour a considerably long time ago, but his tone made it seem like they had known each other for years.

Kuroko felt every fibre in his being screaming at him to bolt out of there right then and there, screw the consequences, because no matter what it was it couldn't have been worse than what he felt would happen if he chose to stay. Looking back now, he should've listened to his instincts.

Kise's hand had travelled up to his shoulder somewhere along the way, and his other hand remained firmly grasping onto his good forearm as he continued to stare at him, as if willing him to stay just by sheer willpower which on hindsight, was actually pretty effective. Because the longer he stared back at the blonde's eyes, the more he felt his firm resolution of reuniting with his family and adrenaline start to melt away, replaced only by a warm gaze that never left his own.

"I need to find my family." Kuroko said gingerly as blonde hair tickled his noise, but even he wasn't convinced by his own statement.

"And you will. I promise you, you will. I'll do everything I can, I swear. Just stay – at least until you've recovered." Kise replied, breaking their intense stare as his gaze slowly traveled down to Kuroko's parted lips, making the heart of the latter pick up its pace for reasons he wasn't quite sure of.

He wasn't sure how or what exactly happened, perhaps it was the balmy sensation his hands felt on him, making the boy feel like melted marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondue on a rainy day indoors, or maybe it was the fact that his own injured body was beginning to feel the strain of physical movement, but at that moment, Kuroko felt comfortably tired, and all he could manage out of his muddled mind was a simple, "Okay."

But that lone word was more than enough to break the sorrowful visage of the taller man, and crack a sunny smile on his friendly features, as his eyes shot up back to his own, lighting up all the same. He was surprised by how little it took to make the man happy. "Really?"

"U-until I recover, yeah."

His grin widened, and Kuroko felt the inane urge to squint his eyes at the brightness of it. It almost made his decision worth it. Almost.

Kise placed both arms on his shoulder as he guided him back to the bed, where Kuroko acquiesced, sitting down and crossing his legs. "Is my family safe?" He questioned, eyes following the man as he walked around the bed to the other side to pour a glass of water.

At first there was silence, and the only sound that filled the atmosphere was the falling water. But then as he passed the glass to Kuroko, he said with a soft voice, "I don't know."

Kuroko gripped the cup. "What? But you said –"

"Yeah, that I'll do everything I can to find your family. And I will. But I can't make empty promises and tell you that they'll definitely be safe and all right, because I don't know that, I can't predict what has, or will happen to them… And I can't, won’t, lie to you." He paused, taking a seat on the chair adjacent to the bed. "It's – uh, pretty chaotic out there, if I have to say, and I know what you're thinking. But it's not safe to go out there right now, especially with the state you're in. Right after this, I'll tell every one of my men to look for them; and I promise you I won't let them stop until they've found them. Trust me, please, trust that I will find them. But, if that's not enough of a reason to convince you to stay, then I –"

Kuroko could tell it was straining for him to even hint at the fact that he would let him leave if he insisted so, and he would've taken the chance, but his current situation was not in his favor, and he knew the best shot he had, despite his anxiety and distress, of finding his family was to bet on the offer Kise just made and wait. After all, it was what he had been doing for a long time.

"Do you think they're alive?"

He looked up. "I don't know. But I do know how much it sucks to know that the only thing you can do is to sit and play the cruel waiting game, but it is, really, all we can do as of your situation right now."

The boy sighed, considering his circumstances and weighing his options. After a minute or so, a crease formed between his brows as he slumped down on the pillow behind, resigned, relishing in the relief it brought down his throat. "Yeah, okay. I trust you."

The relief the older man exulted was practically tangible, as he visibly relaxed and nodded. But then as they say, when one problem is solved, it opens the door to a thousand more.

"Kise, do you know what's happening out there?" Kuroko asked as he looked at him. "There's fire, everywhere, and there are… people, or not, I don't – they're _things_ out there and killing others." He paused, feeling an annoying pain at the back of his head that was annoying enough to convince the stubborn boy not to dig deeper into the subject, as he took in the solemn expression on Kise's face.  "You know what's happening, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." The blonde whispered as he met his eyes, "And it's not very pleasant."

There was a hesitant tone in his voice that Kuroko met up with a determined stare, which Kise acknowledged by exhaling resignedly. "There are… People, specifically the people I live with, trying to take over the area. There's going to be a lot of changes around here now that they've probably already succeeded. A lot of humans are going to get hurt," He paused, but quickly added as he noticed the concern look in Kuroko's eyes, "but more will be saved, really. I can't say much, but all I can tell you is that these people aren't evil. They just have their own ways of doing things. Just – stay close to me, please, I don't want you to get hurt."

Kuroko wasn't convinced, and there were at least a dozen more questioned he wanted to ask, the more probing one being the fact that he had referred to their species as a third party which was a little unusual, but as he looked at Kise's now somber expression, he decided drop the subject - at least for now.

So he nodded briefly, settling with what little information was given to him because it was better than earlier when he knew of nothing at all, no matter how meager the knowledge was, and tucked it into the back pocket of his mind to flip over later.

The atmosphere around them was still, and neither party spoke for a solid minute. It wasn't as if it was awkward, to say the least, but after both parties had cooled down, all that was left was lingering memories of nine years ago that surfaced to, he was sure, both their minds, and he didn't know how to approach the subject. But thankfully, the blonde did.

"So, you're alive."

"And breathing."

He snorted and a small smile slipped across his features. "I'm glad."

"Me too, actually. I'm glad you're still here."

There was a beaded pause as they looked at each other in contented silence, as if both parties were finding difficulty in believing that they were actually here together again after _nine years_ and talking to each other and just being _here_.

"I've been worried."

"Really? About me? Why?" Kise blinked in bemusement.

"Why? I saw you get shot in the chest with your guts practically spilling out on the floor, and then talk about being a martyr for your own cause, before being dragged away by three hooded men and for the finale, you all disappeared into thin air." He paused, raising a brow as he took another gulp of water, "So yeah, me? Worried? Not all all."

Kise stared in silence at him for a few seconds, before cracking out a contagious laugh that swept across his features. "You grew into a little ball of sass there, didn't you?"

"That's not a question, is it?" Kuroko smiled, taking in the flicker of realization that zapped across Kise's face as he finished his line. It was a little reference that only the both of them would get. It felt comfortable, and his insides churned around in warmth.

"But really, are you all right, though? Last I saw you, you were bleeding to death." Kuroko asked, his light tone turning pensive.

The blonde clucked his tongue and drove his mouth into a thin line, waving his hand around. "More or less, I guess. Alive and kicking, all thanks to you."

"Me?" But he didn't do anything. "All I did was stand there."

"With me. That was all I needed, really. Guess I didn't realize it till it was too late."

"What happened? On that day, I mean." Kuroko asked, the question that had been eating away at him for a solid nine years.

Kise sighed again as he rubbed his temples. If he hadn't been so close, he wouldn't have noticed the prominent dark circles that were painted beneath the blonde's eyes, nor the fact that he looked ten years older than he probably was, with the slouched over posture he carried himself in.

"It's a long story, really." He made a wry expression as Kuroko looked at him expectantly, before chuckling and ruffling his own hair tiredly. The motion made the boy look away, feeling uncomfortable and confused as to why he felt heat rushing up to his cheeks. Come to think of it, if he looked past his tired, overworked posture and features, Kise hadn't actually changed that much. Save for the fact that his hair had grown longer, and the aura he gave off wasn't anything like the one before and the air that he carried made him feel  _powerful_. He could tell Kise had grown so much, both physically and mentally, over the course of nine years and if he dared say, Kise had become attractive. Not that he wasn't before, but his change had been so sudden, it had slapped the boy across the face, as if almost mockingly, and tickled his senses more so than he ever felt before. 

Being around his family so much, he never had much time to adventure and explore the glorious world of  _attraction_. He had assumed it would come as naturally as puberty itself, but after a few years, he realized it might not have been that simple after all. But Kuroko didn't have the luxury of an extroverted personality (or siblings he could talk to that  _wouldn't_  blush or feed him annoying sexual references, that was in no way of any help of making him understand, every time he asked), and other than his family, there were hardly any kids his age around the neighborhood that interested him enough.

Hence, to Kuroko, talking to Kise felt like he was being thrown in an unfamiliar region with little to no protection. In a way, Kise was just as much exciting to the teenager as he was intimidating.

The blonde man craned his neck, sighing. "One that you obviously have time for and want to hear. Okay, well -" He began, sitting up straighter in his seat but was swiftly cut off by a bold knock at the door.

Kise tensed, as he shot Kuroko a wary look, which the boy frowned at, as one, he didn't understand the cause for caution and two, he was annoyed by the disturbance.

"Who is it?"

"It's Midorima." The voice outside said without curtail, clearing his throat as he continued. "Pardon the intrusion."

Kise visibly deflated as he stood up and walked towards the wooden door, unhinging the locks as he pulled it open, extending his arms out as he smiled widely.

"Midorima-cchi! You're alive!"

"What? What are you - Of course I'm alive."

"Which I'm thankful for! You went to the battlefield for the first time today; of course I'd be worried. Look you even injured your head."

"It wasn't like I was in any battle, not technically, anyway. And I was in the first aid area at the - you know what, never mind." The other man sighed, waving his hand dismissively as he pushed his glasses up and turned to his left, raising his eyebrow as he laid his eyes on the boy sitting cross-legged on the infirmary bed.

Kuroko froze as he once again, realized the identity of this man, and the incidents that had slipped off his mind due to circumstances came flooding back like a dam that had been broken. His lips started quivering in rage as he slid off the bed, unconsciously releasing his grip on the glass which shattered on the cold tiles in the process, earning a look of concern from Kise as he stepped over the shattered shards and started walking closer to  _Midorima_.

"Kuroko? Are you-"

"What did you do to Hyuuga, you bastard?"

Kise's eyes widened as he quickly stepped forward, crossing himself into the path of the two as he grabbed Kuroko by the shoulders who, if a moment later, would have lunged forward at the green haired man. By then, he had already been trembling and there was a stinging sensation at the back of his head, blurring his vision as his right arm went numb.

But all that Kuroko could think of was that the last time he saw Hyuuga, the man was knocked off his feet and sent flying into a pile of broken porcelain, both bloodied and bruised. How could he have forgotten about Hyuuga, who had risked his own goddamned life to save him and here he was, talking with a strange man he met briefly nine years ago, without so much as pausing to think about his well-being. He was astonished by his own memory, and how, despite his former protests to run valiantly off in search of his family, he had not been referring to that particular brother. How did he forget? He felt guilt rising up his chest, almost as much as the anger that had surfaced as he glared at the face behind Kise.

He remembered. That man and his friend had injured the both of them, and his friend had performed an incredulous show of strength and speed that couldn't possibly have been human, which made the hairs on his skin stand. What the hell were these people? What had he gotten himself into?

He had been too wrapped up in his overall situation that he hadn't even bothered to question how he ended up here. How _did_ he end up here? What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was someone shaking him violently by the shoulders and several cries of his name, before everything was black.

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A/N :

SORRY! SLOW UPDATE! I procrastinated and ended up completing a whole hxh arc instead, damn. Was this chapter draggy? Or did it have just enough? Let me know! It's difficult to gauge by myself where I need to improve on, so I'd appreciate your opinions!

Thanks for sticking with the story for so long, cookie for you if you've made it this far!  
The story starts out a little slow in the romance part, but it'll escalate soon. Your patience will pay out, hopefully.

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! SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU DON'T LIKE MINOR SPOILERS !

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Btw, just a little teaser, in case you've been wondering, Akashi has actually already been involved in the story since the start. You just have to look closer and think a little deeper to realize it. 

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**Remember to leave a review if you've liked, or enjoyed the story! Constructive criticisms and opinions are gladly welcomed!**

-xelia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO AND APOLOGIES FOR THE HUGE 2 MONTHS HIATUS - FORGIVE ME. But hey, I finally decided to upload it! The chapter was initially supposed to be 6k words long but I decided to split it in half.
> 
> Did anyone notice the play of words and references made in this chapter? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) There were quite a few and I must say, I take pride in them. If you haven't already noticed, I do like italics very much, but lmao apologies if they annoy you.
> 
> I wonder who'll be able to guess the story plot bc its going to get a hellotta messy from here on. There are many little details I included from the start of this whole story that will be relevant in the future parts of it, but don't worry if you didn't get them! I'll probably mention them again when the time comes (ominous, I know)but it's a huge bonus if you did! ----------- (SPOILERS) ----------- bc they're clues to Kuroko's tragic back story.
> 
> Remember to leave a review of the story if you liked it! Or maybe if you're feeling it, you could give it a little kudos! It would make me very happy to read your opinions, thoughts and comments on the story thus far.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story! And if you've made it this far into the author's note, A HUGE HUG FOR YOU.
> 
> -xelia


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8  
  
There was no one around. The sun had long set, and with its disappearance brought the inexorable awakening of a crescent moon, whose luminous glow had illuminated the grounds many walk on in the dead of uncountable nights – and it was no different for the boy. When Kuroko awoke, he blinked a couple of times as he raised his arm to grab his head, feeling a persistent ache gnawing at his temples. The room would have been shrouded with the cold embracement of darkness, were it not for the silver of moonlight that spilled into the room, though not enough to ignite the once brightly colored hues of the room, but sufficient for Kuroko to see as his foggy vision cleared.  
  
Naturally, the immediate thought that had surfaced in his mind was his current situation, and the events that happened prior to it. He knew better than to panic, but as he looked at the empty and darkened room presented in front of him, his mind couldn’t help but offer worst-case scenarios. The last thing he remembered was lunging at the green haired man, or _Midorima_.  
  
What happened? Did he pass out? He probably did. But- Why? Kuroko began to speculate as he swung his legs down the bed, only to be rewarded with a sharp bolt of pain that shot up his leg as he flinched back harshly. He looked down. His feet were wrapped in bandages that he was pretty sure hadn’t been there before. Then his eyes traveled to the contents of a lonely bin placed at the foot of the bed, and remembered he had shattered the glass cup, shortly before stepping across the broken pieces scattered on the ground, too blinded by rage to pay any heed to possible injuries.  
  
He sighed, scratching the back of his neck, frustrated by his own actions as he realized it would only result impeding in his escape - something he was set on doing now. Kuroko still wasn’t quite sure of everything that had happened, hell he hadn't had a single clue, but one thing was for certain, he was getting out this place.  
  
Wherever _it_ was.  
  
Of course, being human, guilt was a trait he couldn’t escape. Kise had been nothing but kind towards him, and he _did_ promise to stay put until he recovered. If he left, it would mean breaking that promise and Kuroko _hated_ breaking promises. But what choice did he have? Kise had left him yet again with little to no explanation of his situation, leaving him alone with a belly full of suspicion and worries.  
  
If he was friends with Midorima, did that mean he was aware of the Takao's _abilities_? His eyes widened as it sunk further in. Or was he already part of it?  
  
His mind began to wonder to the vast section of the supernatural. There was only so much he knew about folklore, and he couldn't help but snicker as he thought of a ludicrous scenario.  
  
_Were all of them possibly not… human?_  
  
_That_ itself had sounded ridiculous, even in his head, but it wasn't as absurd as when Kuroko realized he had actually begun to consider that possibility. It would certainly provide a strong explanation to the many things that had occurred; the strange attack in the city, Takao’s inhumane abilities of agility and clout and the fact that Kise hadn’t looked like he aged a single day, despite the fact that he should’ve been in his late twenties or early thirties by now. In fact, the man almost looked _younger_ than he did before (and if all of them had similar incredulous abilities, there wasn't any doubt that the city would fall in no time - that is, if it hadn’t already fallen).  
  
But the very idea of supernatural beings existing was far beyond what the boy’s physical and mental fortitude could handle at the moment and the more he thought about it, the more the throb in his head grew.  
  
He began to feel the familiar sensation of anxiety rising. He paused his train of thoughts, taking in ten slow deep breaths to calm his nerves – an effective technique he picked up from Hyuuga, whose uncertain safety made the swirling pool of guilt in Kuroko’s stomach thrive in joy. But there was plenty of time to mope about in guilt later. It would be a foolish mistake to panic now. Whatever the hell was going on, the boy knew he _had_ to get out of it soon before he became too wrapped up in its webs.  
  
Now all he could think about was just returning to his family. He refused to believe the bitter voice in his head that ( _very_ helpfully) remarked that they were probably all dead, as he slowly stepped onto the cold tiles, clenching his fist as the throbbing in his souls grew when he stood upright. He had to devise a plan, quick, but to do so, he had to figure out where he was first, as walking out the door of the room in a completely unfamiliar and possibly hostile location unprepared wasn’t exactly the best or smartest option.  
  
Kuroko walked over to the large window as he looked out, only to find his heart sinking in complete and utter dismay as he was faced with an ocean that stretched across in all directions for as far as his eyes could reach, and  
he realized the true extent of the difficulty of his escape as their district had been nowhere near any oceans. The nearest one would have been almost thirty kilometers away, but if he was unlucky, the ocean staring back at him could be the one that was over a hundred.  
  
Kuroko’s eyebrows creased together as he looked to the ceiling. The beige pillars were intricately decorated with carvings that looked of Greek origins, and the height his room was above ground was far higher than any ordinary house he knew of, so he concluded that the place was likely to be a castle of sorts. He’d heard stories of an abandoned castle around one of the few oceans surrounding the island, but Kuroko couldn’t be sure as he had never bothered to pay much attention to stories.  
  
He should've.  
  
His gaze wandered further about the area for clues that would aid his escape, and his eyes landed on a folded piece of paper placed on the little table by the bed. It might as well have screamed _open me_ \- so he did, walking over to it as he unfolded the smooth paper, eyes scanning quickly across the messy words scribbled onto its surface.  
  
_Kuroko_  
  
_Sorry! Had to leave, needed to handle some hohum matter that popped up. I know there’s a lot I have to explain, but right now, don’t worry too much. Most of the castle should be out by the time you wake up - but to be safe, please don’t leave the room. I can't guarantee your safety._  
  
_Kuroko frowned. Ominous, he thought, before turning his attention back to the note._  
  
_Doc said you over exerted, and the blood loss you suffered in your souls worsened the stress on your body. But he said you'll be fine. The first time you were out for nearly a whole week! So drink water and get plenty of rest. I’ll be back soon._  
  
_Kise ~ ♡_  
  
_P.S. In the case where I’m gone for more days than expected, someone will bring you food._  
  
It was probably wasn't the right time to do so, but Kuroko couldn’t help the silver of smile that had found its way onto his lips as he reread the message - though it had only served to worsen his guilt. It was bad enough he couldn’t shake off the constant thought that he was breaking the (baffling) amount of trust Kise had placed in him - he certainly didn’t need a physical reminder of it.  
  
He couldn't believe he had been out an entire week, plus the days that just passed due to his passing out again, it was probably in the second week since he'd been _kidnapped_. He thought of his family and how they might have been worrying themselves sick.  
  
He'll find them. He'll find them and make everything right again.  
  
His eyes travelled back to the fourth sentence and like cogs, his brain started turning. There were only a few ways “the castle should be out” could be interpreted - either that everyone in the place would be sleeping or that everyone would be literally out for, presumably, to battle. (But there was a critical downside to the new information. Kuroko didn't know how long he had been out, and the day the "castle should be out" might have already been long over, and judging by Kise's ominous warning, going out there might be the last and worst decision he could make.)  
  
But the information had changed plenty and there wasn’t much difference either way, though he would much prefer the case to be the latter. The only difference in both conditions was that if it was the former, he just had to keep a little quieter and walk a little softer and Kuroko was a natural at that. He was going to make do and work with what tiny amount of information given to him.  
  
He willed himself to regain his composure, as his hands began to tremble. Was he actually doing this? Could he pull it off? No matter, it was now or never. He had to have faith in Kise. The once seemingly unbeatable situation had turned to be in his favor, and he was going to play it to its fullest. He prayed Kise hadn’t been lying, or wrong, as he stuffed the paper into his pocket, walking straight to the wooden door separating his 'safe haven' from the world outside. He grabbed the wooden stick leaning against the wall that was supposedly to aid him with walking, deciding to utilize it (because hey, a limpy half-assed stick would definitely put down immortal men. He was a natural genius).  
  
So grabbing the makeshift weapon tightly, the boy reached for the handle on the door, fingers curling tightly around it before slowly pushing it down, opening a gap through it for him to examine the situation outside.  
  
He turned his head round. As predicted, he was met with a long and empty hallway. To the right was a dead end that led to another door, and to the left was a corner that turned to the front. The walls alongside and across of him were lined with similar doors to his. Slowly and carefully, he pushed open the wooden structure, stepping out as he resumed looking around cautiously, never breaking his defensive stance. He wasn't sure if there were anyone else in the other rooms, but nevertheless, keeping silent was the safer option.  
  
He tried to ignore the logical part of his brain that was yelling for him to stop, to go back to the room, close the door and and lock it tight, because out of all the infinite _brilliant_ plans his idiot of brothers came up with - and not to mention subsequently _making_ him accompany them in their quests - this was by far, more reckless than any of them.  
  
But do or die, right?  
  
He pressed his back to the wall, as he started creeping down the dark hallway, stepping on his tippy toes first so that his feet hit the ground as lightly as possible. He hadn't had a clue where his shoes went. He reached the corner and peered his head over the side. Despite the cool temperature the night offered, by then, sweat had already been trickling down his face, free flowing like condensation on a window pane and beading on his forehead before dripping from his chin where it hit the marble ground.  
  
Thankfully, there wasn't anyone down this hallway either. Just another couple of identical doors along the right walls that led to a large door at the end - his best bet. A large window was centered on the left walls, and after checking for a clear coast, he moved forward to the transparent glass, his heart leaping with joy at the sight that presented before him.  
  
Instead of meeting yet again with a seemingly endless view of ocean, this time, there was a forest that laid before him, conjoined with the ocean he'd seen before, and though it looked equally as impregnable, it was at least a one up from the sea. He spotted a tiny door at the side of the tall walls that separated the castle from the forest through the window, and concluded that that was it.  
  
That door was his way out.  
  
It didn't seem too far away, at least, not as far as he had initially expected an exit to be. There wasn't anyone there now and it was his best bet. Though there were a couple of empty areas that he had to get across, as long as he was quick, no one would notice him.  
  
He pushed himself off the window and headed for the end of the hallway, stopping only momentarily to check his behind.  
  
Kuroko approached the large door, before slowly pushing it open. It creaked like the rusty little shit it was, causing a loud echo to resonate throughout the place. He paused, flinching harshly as he proceeded in his actions but slower this time round. It worked a little, but if anybody had been close by, the creak would have been as clear as day.  
  
He poked his head out. He was (thankfully) met again with an empty L - shaped area. There was a door built on the left wall, and a tiny one at the end to his right. It would have been the same as the previous corridor, except this one wasn't enclosed within concrete, but built so that it was exposed - a tiny corner in the massive castle that spread out into the chilly night as it offered a majestic view of the surroundings. There was a balcony, and the walls around it were lined with flowers with all the different shades of greens and reds and yellows, and it looked to be as well as all the colors of the world, and they seemed to glow under the moonlight and all along its sides were tangled vines stretching out towards every direction. Every once in a while, a gust of wind would sweep the fallen leaves on the floor away and rustling the green ones still attached to their roots, creating a fairy tale-like scene. From where he was, the moon hanging in the quiet sky could be seen clearly, as it smiled down at the blue haired boy. There was a bench situated in the centre of the balcony that looked out of place but at the same time, somehow adding the final touch that completed the arrestingly beautiful picture.  
  
Kuroko gazed at the picturesque scene in front of him, transfixed, as he stepped out from behind the door, his feet moving by their own accord towards the wooden structure. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was yet again _that_ voice, screaming at him to keep moving forward before it was too late, but the longer he looked at the little homely garden in front of him, the more he felt to stay. It was disrespectful, to glance and just _leave_ when such a sight was presented to him. It was so tranquil, the atmosphere, he felt compelled to linger around. He craned his neck up to relish under the light of the dazzling white spots in the dark sky as they beamed down at him - a habit he had ever since he could remember.  
  
_He could never look away from stars._  
  
But perhaps some things were inflexible; habits were made to be broken just as were the tiny voices at the back of your head meant to be heeded.  
  
Because just as Kuroko was about to approach the bench, the broad door on his left creaked open without preamble. He froze in his spot as his eyes grew wide in realization.  
  
He was out in the open.  
  
There wasn't enough time to run back and there was no where to hide. Kuroko realized the true extent of the crap he tangled himself in as he involuntarily started trembling, his grip on the wooden rod tightening. It was terrible, how helpless he felt as every fibre in his being wanted to run but he knew he wouldn't make it to cover in time to save his sorry ass. It all happened in an instant and he didn't know what to do. So he turned his head, watching in fearful anticipation as the door slowly creaked open, revealing a man decked in royal white in its leave.  
  
At first the man had his head lowered to the ground, hence not noticing the 5 foot 6 boy in front of him. A few seconds passed like this, with Kuroko trembling still in silence, heart palpitating wildly like a crazed animal trying to escape its cage before the man finally looked up, inevitably spotting the terrified blue haired boy and locking eyes with said boy.  
  
Kuroko took a second to give the man a quick glance over because if he was going to die, he might as well know the identity of the person who was sending him to his maker was. The man had striking red hair that reminded him of the myriad of flowers surrounding the area and his eyes were almost razor sharp, reminding Kuroko of a cat. His posture was near immaculate, and his ivory white royal suit was a vast contrast to Kise's. It looked like it had been ironed out against a board for hours, banishing all possible creases and giving both the top and bottom a strange addicting canvas look. But the factor that had struck anxiety in the boy the most was the fact that his eyes were painted with two different hues - one was red, toward fuchsia, that matched his hair and the other a bold orange, and it made him wonder whether they were natural. Under the influence of the moonlight, they seemed to glow eerily as they stared back at Kuroko, confusion mixed with a spoonful of amusement (and the boy thought that perhaps it might have been linked to the fact that he looked like a deer caught in headlights, with his odd frozen posture and widened stiffed eyes).  
  
It was almost like a horror movie, with him as the innocent poor victim starring straight ahead at the man of unknown source and intention - but this time he played as the audience instead as well; chewing on their nails and grabbing onto their seat handles as they waited at the edge of their seats for the next scene to play out. What was the antagonists' next move? Would the protagonist make it out alive? He crossed his fingers as prayed to the stars above him to let him make it out alive.  
  
But it turned out to be one of those cheap films you'd get at a discounted price because no one wanted to pay to watch. It was very anti-climatic, really, because  in one swift motion, the man flicked his eyes behind him, as he walked straight ahead towards the balcony, brushing _right past_ Kuroko.  
  
The poor boy was left standing and staring at the spot where the man had once been in, feeling flustered, confused, thankful and at the same time very annoyed. He still waited for it, for the unexpected twist in the plot, for the good part in the movie as he held his breath in fearful anticipation. But it never came.  
  
Because even after a few minutes of silence had ticked past, he found his heart beating, and that he was still very much _undead_ and alive.  
  
He turned his head, as he stared at the strange man leaning against the balcony, posture so casual and off guard as if he hadn't just witnessed an intruder wandering about in his domain, and Kuroko's mouth dropped open slightly as it began to move but no words came out. He couldn't be sure whether he should be glad or mad, hell he wasn't even sure of what he felt anymore.  
  
The boy didn't know what had taken over him, maybe it had been the remains of the do-or-die adrenaline (which was extremely unsatisfied with the oddly calm situation), but a few seconds later Kuroko found himself lifting both his arms, as he took a large stride forward and swung the wooden weapon across the back of the man's head as hard as he could.  
  
Of course, he hadn't expected it to work. But silly him, he still found the inane need to give it a shot, because dying brutally wasn't enough for him. His eyes followed the split pieces of undependable wood flying across the floor, some lingering about on the fabric of the man's attire, as he dropped the other broken half still in his hand on the ground defeatedly, lips curling themselves into a tight line as he knew there was definitely no way out of the hole he just dug for himself now.  
  
  


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	11. Chapter 10

It was almost humorous, because Kuroko had been anticipating a variety of colorful violent reactions - he even began thinking of what his last words would be, which was something along the lines of fuck and you - and yet again preparing himself for the worst case scenarios, but what he wasn't expecting was the man, who with a stoned expression, proceeding to carry out a conversation with him as if it was the most ordinary and sane thing to do.  
  
"Myosotis sylvatic."  
  
_What?_  
  
There was a short silence, before, "The blue flowers. You know, they bloom best in this season."  
  
_I don't care...?_  
  
His eyes were trained on the flowers growing on the wall.

Another pause.

"They match your hair."  
  
Kuroko had kept quiet for a long while, stunned beyond comprehension and unsure of what to say or even do because what could anyone in his situation possibly _do_. He knew for sure that the man was possibly psychotic and if not, had been dropped as a baby. But one thing was for certain - his irritation and annoyance that were almost at their peak.  
  
"Are you making fun of me?"  
  
The man, for the first time, revealed a flicker of response, his eyebrows dipping for a second as he turned his upper body around to face him. "No."  
  
"Then what are you doing?" Kuroko asked, his hands clenching into balls. "I don't know what the hell you people are, nor do you know who I am, and you know I know I can't out-strength you, so you decide to ignore me then tell me how I look like flowers." He gritted his teeth, "Tell me, which part of that isn't mocking?"  
  
There was another delayed response as he cocked his head and blinked, surprise an evident visage. "But I didn't say you looked like flowers, I said your hair matches the color of it."  
  
"Oh my god, I don't fucking care!" Kuroko exclaimed, feeling a refreshing burst of new energy surge through him as he spurted out a cuss word - something he hardly did unless extremely ruffled - and with new found confidence, he huffed impulsively, "Look, do you want to _kill_ me or not?" The other party blinked once again in bemusement as the boy took a little step forward. "Because maybe you think this is a fun mutually inclusive game, but I hate to break it to you that between you and I, you're the only one who feels that way." His chest was on fire. "I have had enough of a shitty day- or week, or however fucking long you ferets have been keeping me locked up here and I don't have any more time to waste so _please_ ,” He said in one breath, ”stop doing it on your and my behalf, and _christ_ just let me go if you don't plan on mutilating me."  
  
All right, hands down. He sounded cool.  - was the first thought that came to mind. The boy liked to imagine that if there had been spectators, they would've exploded in applause.  
  
Admittedly, he was trembling as he said so - and he could practically picture the same tiny rational part of him throwing its arms up in a fit, saying "All right, that's it," and packing it's suitcase as it prepared to resign from the premises of his mind - but under the influence of the heat of the moment, all other senses didn't seem as significant as he figured there wasn't anything to lose now because the creeping realization was slowly dawning on him that if he hadn't been doubled fucked over before, he was positively lying in his coffin now, mangled and marred.  
  
The man however, looked taken aback; as he turned fully around to face the boy, making the latter begin to feel like swallowing back his rash, but very  _suave_ , words.  
  
But then, like every extraordinarily queer action he had pulled on the night itself, the red head chuckled, before turning into a full blown laugh, reminding him of melted chocolate over a warm fire - something he had the luxury of tasting only less than a couple of times. It had been such a pleasant surprise, both the laughter and his reaction in general, that Kuroko felt his anger quickly dissipating  against his will, as his senses attuned themselves to his laughter - something he presumed the man didn't do quite so often.  
  
What was he laughing at? Was he laughing at him? Was there something on his face? Was it something he sai- of course.

He must think him an idiot now.

The man was bent over, his previously lazily styled hair falling over his eyes and the side of his face. He had one hand over his mouth, resting on the ledge, and the other grabbing lightly at his stomach in a fit of uncontrolled laughter that filled the air around the boy, who had been feeling like an uninvited interloper to – to what?

He felt his cheeks oddly heating up as he looked away, in a fervent effort to remain mad, because he _was_ , but his tensed muscles had already begun relaxing as the jovial sound _assaulted_ his ears, and he thought, damn, that was a foul move, and it made him to past annoyed when he realized he couldn't find it anywhere in him to interrupt his little display of emotions. Unwillingly and with no other viable options, Kuroko pursed his lips and waited somewhat uncomfortably for it to die down - and soon enough, it did.  
  
The man muttered a few words under his breath with a mirthful expression plastered on his features, as he let a couple of final chuckles escape. "What?" Kuroko questioned, frowning as he took a small step back, suddenly becoming more aware of the gravity of his situation, his heart and brain finally and gradually feeling the after effects of adrenaline as his mental processes began to slow down.  
  
"Nothing," the man said quietly, as the last trace of amusement disappeared along with small echoes of laughter hanging in the air, his face returning to its previous stoic expression as they both fell into a silence that Kuroko was painfully aware shouldn't have been this comfortable with the entire context of the situation - but strangely enough, it was.  
  
"Not now."  
  
The boy looked at him, feeling the familiar and very welcomed surge of irritation flushing through his veins once again.  
  
_"What?"_  
  
"You can't leave - at least not right now."  
  
"At least not - wha - why the hell not?" Was he going to skin him after all?  
  
"You can go in the morning." He replied curtly.  
  
Kuroko was certain his face mirrored the epitome of irritation as he closed his eyes testily, appealing help from the modicum of sanity lingering in him.  
  
"Why." He found himself stating more than asking. Who the hell did this man think he was?  
  
"Because."  
  
And that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. This was obviously going nowhere, and if he was _trying_ to be difficult, then there was nothing Kuroko could do.  
  
He puffed in annoyance, looking at the door which was so very close from his peripheral vision and decided _fuck it_. He was practically knee deep in his self-dug grave and this dotty man probably would've gutted him come sunrise, so the point in holding back now was none, and if was going to die, he certainly wasn't going down without a fight, Kuroko bit the inside of his cheek as he rationed with himself, finding the conclusion to be plausible.

He turned around sharply, bolting towards the door as he just went for it, grabbing the handle and yanking it open, feeling a rush of incredulous hope as he might actually succeed – but naturally, the thought was fleeting and mercilessly crushed when the door was slammed back down with a loud thud.  
  
His heart skipped a beat and his vision blurred as Kuroko realized there was an arm now inches beside his face, and said arm was the culprit of the slammed door.  
  
He shifted his vision to his left, and below where the palm laid was a huge dent in the hard wooden structure.

A goddamned dent.

Kuroko stared at the newly deformed area in cold sweat, his heart rate picking up its pace by a tenfold. He hardly had time to process anything because shortly after, he had a sickening realization.  
  
The man hadn't exactly been leaning on him, but he had been close enough such that his chest pressed against Kuroko's back, who noticed that despite the relatively close proximity, it had remained oddly cold. It was strange, how he radiated practically no bodily heat, and the only other reason Kuroko was aware that there had been another being close by was due to the unmistakable knowledge of heavy breathing down his neck. It sent chills down his spine and he shivered, but whether due to fear or not he wasn't quite sure.   
  
If he hadn't been immobilized before, he would've been paralyzed by then.

What the hell had he done again.

He found himself unconsciously trying for the handle again, tugging at it subtly, though he held no hope of it ever opening again.  
  
It hadn’t been subtle enough though, because the next thing he knew, there was a swift swipe of a hand from his right that collided with the large metal door handle, sending it tumbling across the balcony. Kuroko's hand was left in the air, frozen still from the harsh impact and underlying danger. He looked to his left, mouth gaping slightly as he focused on the deformed metal lying defeated on the floor. The once solid structure had bits of its ends flying across the small space, ensued by metallic clinking echoing the place. The wall had it worse though, because the impact had created a large depression in its previously smooth surface, with a large chunk of the cement cracking and adding onto the cluster of debris beginning to pile on the floor.  
  
"I _said_ , in the morning."  
  
Screw him, Kuroko thought, even as he began to tremble under the pressure. His vision shifted between white and black and he became gradually aware of the growing sound of pounding blood in his head, unfamiliar with the intensity of emotions flushing through him. There were so many things he would've liked to say to his face, but as he looked at the damaged concrete, he felt his resolve crumbling like it did and decided against it. He clenched his fist as a loose shaky breath escaped, eyes focusing on a random point on the wall as he kept silent. His chest heaved heavily as he tried to steady himself from the looming prospect of his muscles completely failing him. Goosebumps surfaced as the man's cold breath continued tickling his neck and Kuroko did his best to calm his irrational nerves.  
  
There was palpable tension in the air for almost a solid minute with neither party saying anything - up until the red haired man sighed softly and almost resignedly, before quietly, he said, "The wolves hunt at night. I don't think you'd appreciate your family finding your bones mixed in a pile of dog crap."  
  
Of course, Kuroko wasn't convinced, hell, not in the slightest, and at this point he felt being eaten by wolves would've been a much better option. At least he would be doing his part for nature.

But there obviously wasn't much room for argument, so instead, he settled for nodding stiffly, deciding that agreeing would be the wiser option. The man, seemingly satisfied with his short lackluster response now, finally lifted his weight off. He turned around slowly, and let out another shaky breath of relief he hadn't known he had been holding as he visibly deflated, huffing and puffing as if he had been running a long mile. If anything, that had been too close to, death, in fact. What in the world had he been thinking?

Last time he'd ever push his luck again.  
  
As the thought filled his head, the man lifted his hand off the door, and walked swiftly towards the bench again, where he sat down, leaning back with both poise and elegance as he flicked his head up to gaze at the stars in familiar wonder.  
  
What?  
  
What was that supposed to mean for him? Was the danger over? Was that an invitation for him to sit down too - or worse, _beside_ him? Because there was no way in hell he was going to place his ass anywhere next to the man's. Kuroko had still been terrified stiff, and the bottom half of his body refused to cooperate as they glued themselves to the floor. He let silence occupy the air, shifting around timidly with confusion and fear as he fiddled with his thumbs and looked around anxiously, trying to decipher the possible hidden meanings behind his enigmatic actions.  
  
But five minutes passed, then fifteen, and the man didn't so much as fidget or speak, but had just stared at the splatters of light in the sky for a solid quarter of an hour. Well, the boy wasn’t going to initiate the conversation. He was pissed, and nonplussed and embarrassed and it felt just like as if the whole gamut of his emotions had decided to gang up against him to mess with his mind. Then as the boy came to the conclusion that his feet were really starting to hurt from the unhealed injuries on his soul and that he really needed to sit, the man broke the silence,

“Are you just going to stand there the entire night?”

The boy looked at his back, his mouth drying as no reply came out.

“I have no issues with that, of course, if you prefer a vertical advantage.” The man finally lifted his attention off the stars and gave it to him, “but your feet may not like it as much.”

Silence. How did -

“They’re bleeding,” he nodded towards his feet. “You should rewrap them.”  
  
The man looked at him, and to say it discomforted Kuroko would’ve been a universal understatement.

Well no shit!

He looked intelligent but perhaps Kuroko had been wrong. Rewrap them with what? His fucking – presumably – large ego? Well that wouldn’t be extremely comfortable now, would it? The boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his legs finally relented to the pressure and he sat down, leaning hesitantly against the wall as his feet cried out in relief. He noticed in dismay that the bandages were soaked in patches of blood that left their marks all over the floor around him.

It hurt, but at that point in time, Kuroko had been too exhausted both mentally and physically - and not to mention he had long run out of any fucks to give – to take care of them.

He’ll leave in the morning, and he hoped the man kept to his word. He sighed quietly, leaning back against the wall further as he settled in for the cold night.  
  
As Kuroko was being lulled to sleep slowly by the beat of rustling leaves, the man said, "I'll make arrangements for your safe exit tomorrow morning." A pause. "Rest well."  
  
What a nice guy.   
  
The boy rolled his eyes behind his fluttering eyelids. He had been tentative about falling asleep with the man in his vicinity but his body was screaming at him to rest and he was so very _tired_. Kuroko convinced himself that the imminent threat of death had been more or less reduced now, he supposed.  
  
After a while he felt the telltale sign of looming sleep, as his eyelids began to droop down and the first indication of slumber finally dawned on him.

That night he dreamt of red snakes chasing barefooted him with boomerangs.


End file.
